Kimberly Turberville - September 1999 - Dixie Landing

[Trip Reports]

September 17-24, 1999

CAST of CHARACTERS:

Kimberly (me): 27, web designer wanna-be, TDS CM, been to WDW 7 times before
David (hubby): 29, pharmacist, been to WDW 5 times before
Erin and John: Our Disney fanatic friends, staying at Port Orleans
Floyd: Errant hurricane threatening the Atlantic coast
Gert: Hurricane lurking in the Atlantic Ocean
BACKGROUND:

Wow, I love Disney. After scamming our second WDW vacation of 1998 last August, David laid down the law. No more WDW vacations for at least a year. Fine. OK. So, we planned our vacation this year for September 17 - 24, 1999. One year, one month, and one day from our last trip. Aren't I a schemer? I've organized the Planning Report Chronologically so you can experience the joys constant rearranging and mind-changing.

Because of my obsessive Trip planning, the Disney bug bit our friends John and Erin, who were already there in January 1999 and swore not to go back again for a while. Eventually, their resolve broke down (It couldn't have been my planning that did it...) they're staying right up the Sassagoula River at Port Orleans pretty much the same week! (Their dates are the 18-25). They'll be taking the train down to Orlando from Wilmington, DE.

August 24, 1998 - Agree on returning to WDW September 17-25, 1999
September 13, 1998 - Begin working at TDS as a seasonal CM
January, 1999 - 'Promoted' to Permanent CM at TDS
March, 1999 - Book Caribbean Beach Resort at regular Value Rate of $154 per night for 8 nights
April, 1999 - Because airfares never seem to be low when we have extra cash, we decide to drive to WDW. It's a 17 hour trip, but I quite enjoy road trips. We'll be leaving NJ on 9/16 to arrive at WDW on 9/17.
May, 1999 - Began hoarding Disney Dollars.
May 28, 1999 - John Blackwell books the Animal Kingdom Backstage Safari Tour for the 4 of us. We'll be attending that tour on Monday, September 20th. Cost is $60 per person.
June 1, 1999 - The Family Turberville, Inc decides to use all of TDS paychecks for purchases of Disney Dollars. Dollar totals begin to skyrocket.
June 12, 1999 - Spoke with CRO. CM 25% discount off rooms were available for the CSR, DxL, PO, but not CBR and not for 8 consecutive nights. Changed plans to seven consecutive nights and switched to Dixie Landings. Deleted 9/25. We'd have to wait until 21 days before the trip to see if we can get 50%. I'm dreaming of Deluxe Resorts
July, 1999 - Continue Hoarding Disney Dollars. Total is over $300.
July 12, 1999 - Hear at TDS that my fellows CM were snagging the 50% rate for September. Called CRO 2x before finding a CM who believed me and checked the system. Although we weren't near 21 days out, Disney extended the 50% rate out to September 30. I got Dixie Landings for $66.60 per night. The cheapest Deluxe rate available was $100 per night for Wilderness Lodge. We decided to stick with Dixie Landings and use the saved money toward food.
July 30, 1999 - Receive 2 Complimentary 1 Day Hopper Passes in the mail from Michael Eisner for working at TDS. What a job! From past experience, we always go to the parks one day less than the length of our stay. So this time we'll only need 6 days worth of admission. We decide to purchase 4 day Hopper Passes for the trip, and take 1 day to go to Universal. I also get discounts on admissions to TL and PI. So we're only planning on purchasing the 4 day park hoppers. That may change, though. I know that somewhere in this apartment is a hopper with one unused day. It's a matter of locating it.
August 1999 - Surpass $400 and $500 Disney Dollar totals
August 5, 1999 - Make reservations at Emeril's at Universal Citywalk (gasp! The horrors!) for 5:00 pm on Friday, September 17th.
August 9, 1999 - Tour paid for, hotel almost paid for, Driving and hotel snacks purchased
August 12, 1999 - Through some of my fellow TDS CM's, I discover The Disney Store Appreciation Month at WDW. Basically, in addition to the great hotel rates, we find out that we can get 8 day UMPS for only $230 each. Some quick math reveals that this way we'd be saving money over purchasing the CM discounted 4 day hoppers (about $180 each) and paying discounted admission to water parks, Pleasure Island, and DisneyQuest. I couldn't find the unused hopper anyway, so it all works out. The UMPs are added to the price of our hotel.
August 20, 1999 - AM: On a whim, I check Travelocity.com for airfares. Wow! We can get roundtrip direct flights from Philadelphia to Orlando for only $140 per person! We budgeted $200 for travel each way by car. Adding in shuttles and parking, it still saves us money to fly, I think. I put the reservation on hold until midnight tomorrow and like a good little wife, wait until David comes home to discuss it. PM: When broken down, it will still cost less to drive, about $50 less. But then again, is $50 worth getting to Orlando in 2 hours instead of 18? We sleep on it.
August 21, 1999 - We can fly, we can fly, we can fly!!!! We purchase the tickets, and cancel Emeril's, since we won't be able to get there (no car!) Make reservations with Florida Town Car to pick us up at the airport. We had great experiences with them both times before, and will never wait for a Mears shuttle again.
August 23, 1999 - I made Artist Point PS for Friday night at 7:00 pm in place of Emeril's. I've never seen Wilderness Lodge before, so I'm excited about it.
August 26, 1999 - $555 in Disney Dollars!
August 27, 1999 - We sat down with Erin and John to see when we want to get together while at WDW. Since I'm the CM and will get 20% discounts, I made the following PS for the 4 of us: Cinderella's Royal Table, Flying Fish Café, Boatwrights
August 30, 1999 - Stopped mail service for that week.
September 1, 1999 - Made 1:00 pm Priority Seating for the Crystal Palace for Friday 9/17. Stopped newspaper delivery for the week.
September 4, 1999 - Sent more money to WDW for Dixie Landings Room/ticket package. Purchased travel size toiletries for trip.
September 5, 1999 - Thanks to birthday presents, we passed the $600 Disney Dollar Mark! Only 11 days to go.
September 8, 1999 - Mail final hotel/ticket payment. Yay! So now we have paid: the room, the UMPs, the AK tour, and the airline tickets. We also have $650 in Disney Dollars. Now it's time to relax and count down the days. This is why we insist on paying everything up front.
September 9, 1999 - Purchased $100 in Disney Dollars. Final DD tally: $750
September 11, 1999 - In order to achieve a round number, we purchased $50 more DD-Final total (we mean it this time) is $800. We're keeping an eye on Hurricane Floyd
September 14, 1999 - We sat down and had a very grown-up conversation. If we think it wouldn't be wise to fly Friday, we may see about moving the trip Saturday to Saturday. We were going to fax out our room request today, but as people are fearing for their lives and property, we thought it best not to.
September 15, 1999 - Floyd is destined to make landfall in South Carolina. However, New Jersey is now in a State of Emergency. According to the forecasts, Friday will bring rain to our area and sun to WDW! Faxed out room request: King size bed in Dixie Landings.
September 16, 1999 - Today we pack, and drop off the dog at Mom's. Hotel confirmed, FTC confirmed, Airline iffy. All flights out of Philly have been canceled for the rest of the day. We honestly don't know if/when our flight out tomorrow will leave, but we have a pack of cards and a lot of vacation spirit. If our flight isn't delayed, we'll head to the airport around 3 am to ensure that we have seats on our scheduled flight.
OBJECTIVES:

There are certain things that I wish to accomplish while at WDW this time around. I'd like to see some more of the other resort hotels. I have made it my mission to see if I can get a magnet from each one. I already have a CBR one from last year. We'd also like to ride Test Track and Rock and Roller Coaster, since they weren't around last year. A Ghiradelli's sundae is definitely on the plan. Also, David and I are not parade/firework people. But I've made it a point to see the Main Street Electrical Parade, since I have wonderful memories of that from years ago. Oh, and we need to see the Festival of the Lion King and visit the Asia section of Animal Kingdom.

ITINERARY:

I'm not a Disney Commando. I haven't achieved that level of planning. Here's what we think we may do. This is very likely to change at any whim. We'll probably do some last minute schedule jockeying. I still don't know if I want to see Islands of Adventure. If so, we have to figure out how to get there. We also are a strong believer in the afternoon breaks. We don't nap, but walk around the resort, play some arcade games, maybe do some boat rentals at another resort. I may parasail, if the price is right.

Fri, September 17 - Arrive in WDW at 8:50 am, check in at DxL,MK, lunch at Crystal Palace, dinner at Artist Point
Sat, September 18 - EP in day, afternoon break, MK at night, meet E and J for dinner at Cinderella's Royal Table, watch MSEP
Sun, September 19 - MK day, afternoon break, dinner with E and J at Flying Fish Café, PI if not dead
Mon, September 20 - AK with E and J in morning (tour), lunch at Tusker House, afternoon break, dinner with E and J at Boatwrights, possibly PI
Tue, September 21 - Easy Day...rent boats at Contemporary
Wed, September 22 - Meet E and J at Downtown Disney, do Typhoon Lagoon
Thur, September 23 - Meet E and J at MGM in morning, afternoon break, back to MGM for Mama Melrose's and Fantasmic w/E and J.
Fri, September 24th - Flight leaves Orlando at 12:48 pm. Plan next trip (January?)
REFERENCES:

Birnbaum's Walt Disney World Without Kids 1999
1998 Unofficial Guide to WDW
1999 PassPorter
1998 Perlmutter's WDW Guide for Couples
Deb Wills' Unofficial Walt Disney World Information Guide
Travelocity Website
(Editor's Note: I can't believe Kimberly didn't list my site!)
Day 1: September 17, 1999 "Our vacation's starting! Their vacation's over!"

Objectives:

Lunch at Crystal Palace at 1 PM.
Try a Praline
Dinner at Artist Point at 7 PM.
Purchase Dixie Landings Magnet
Purchase Port Orleans Magnet
Purchase Wilderness Lodge Magnet
Floyd tore through the Philadelphia area the day before, canceling all flights out of Philadelphia International Airport. We knew there would be a bunch of people hankering to get on our scheduled 6:30 flight to Orlando, so we decided to get there early.

Woke up at 2 am, left our standard-view (parking lot view, for those uninitiated in Disney Resort-ese) apartment at 3 am. The dog (Mickey) was left with Mom last night, and the 3 cats (Noelle, Misty, and Charlie) were frankly too drowsy to care that we were leaving. Mom would check in on them every other day, so we weren't concerned about their well-being. We arrived at Kinney Airpark at 3:20 am and parked the "Funky Blue Neon." The shuttle driver was quick to get us to the airport by 3:30 am. (I guess because we were the only customers he had seen in

hours, thanks to Floyd). I'm glad that we did get there early, because even though the counters didn't open until 6 am, there were already 8 people ahead of us in line, not counting those sleeping on benches. When we finally got to the USAirways representative, she informed us that the 6:30 flight was still listed as leaving on time, but that didn't mean anything.

We: Why?

She: Because no planes could land yesterday, we probably don't have a plane or crew for your flight.

We: When will we know?

She: (stamping tickets) Go to the gate. See if there is a plane there. If there is, wait for your crew to show up. If there is no crew, then we'll put you on the next available flight. Not the next flight, but the next *available* flight. It may not be until tomorrow. Enjoy your trip!

We: Yeah...OK.

We sped to the gate and peered into the murky blackness outside. There was a plane! Yay! Now, we waited. About 5:45, there appeared our crew, who scurried down the jetway to the plane. The plane lights went on. Double Yay! Then we looked at the (no exaggeration) 150 or so people in line at the desk trying to get onto the flight. All ticketed folks boarded the plane at 6:15 am, but because they were trying to fill every seat, the plane didn't leave the runway until 7:30...an hour late. By then the sun was shining over Philadelphia, and we tried to sleep after eating our yummy airline breakfast of a banana nut muffin, peach yogurt, and raisins. We couldn't sleep. It's hard to sleep on Orlando-bound flights.

The plane was supposed to land at 8:50 am, but landed at 9:30 am. As we headed for the shuttles heading over to the main terminal, I noticed the gloomy people heading off of the shuttles to the gates. As a child, (and even now) I smile to myself and think, "Our vacation's starting, and their vacation's over!" And someone in my life, be it my parents or now my husband will reply, "But in a short bit, we'll be on that side." I'll think of that sadness when I come to it!

David and I got to the main terminal and scurried downstairs, hoping our Florida Town Car driver didn't leave. But he was still here! Third yay of the day! Bill was our driver and patiently waited as we retrieved our baggage (first on the plane...last off the plane). Then we crossed the street into the new place where the Town Car drivers have to park and we were on our way. This is the 3rd time we've used

FTC, and we've been pleased every time. Bill's car was clean and comfortable, and the trip was quick but safe. He told us all about the singles line at Test Track as well as Fantasmic and the Rock and Roller Coaster. We got to Dixie Landings at about 10:00 am, and waited to check in.

If you happened to read my lengthy planning TR, you'll know that we tried to pay everything before we arrived. Unfortunately, because of the hurricane, CRO was a few days behind in processing payments. Our last $400. Payment wasn't applied. A quick phone call to CRO, and we were assured that they would send the check back to us uncashed. We used our Check Card to pay the $400 balance, and to enable us to charge meals to the room account. We did get our request to stay at Magnolia Terrace, but the room wasn't ready yet since check in wasn't until 3 PM. No biggie. I assumed that they were waiting for a room with a king bed, since we had faxed that we would like one if available. We were starving, though, so we left the bags, took our UMPs and headed to Colonel's Cotton Mill for lunch. Oh...but lunch didn't start for another 15 minutes, so we had another breakfast. David had the Blue Plate Special and I had the French Toast Combo. We bought the refillable mugs, and the total minus the 20% TDS CM discount was $23.54.

We knew that because we had just eaten, making the 1:00 PS at MK's Crystal Palace wasn't going to happen so we cancelled it. Instead, we decided to meander around Dixie Landings for a while to wait for our room. The weather was gorgeous, with a cloudless sky. The sun was very hot. A big difference from Philadelphia at 3 am! We saw the pool and noted that this is the first resort we've stayed at (we were at CBR and CS before) that we couldn't see any of the WDW park landmarks. (We could see SE from CBR and ToT from CS). Great theming! There was a beautiful white gazebo in front of the Magnolia Bend building (Figure 1). There were also roses climbing up trellises and lawns manicured like golf courses. (Figure 2) I know some people prefer Alligator Bayou for its rusticness, but give me elegant or give me death!

As the sun beat down and the time dragged, we realized at 1 PM that we should probably do something or else we wouldn't make it until check in time. So we hopped upon the waiting Sassagoula River Cruise and headed to Downtown Disney to ride the Water Mice. What a beautiful cruise! Very breezy and scenic. It was also the site of our first "Silly Tourist Question of the Day."

Boat Captain, spoken as we all boarded the boat: The Sassagoula River Cruise departs every 24 minutes from Dixie Landings.

Tourist Lady: When will the next boat leave?

Boat Captain: (pause) In twenty-four minutes.

Tourist Lady: Oh.

During the boat ride, we decided that perhaps the air-conditioned DisneyQuest would be a fantastic place to visit. Then we can do the Water Mice. Upon de-boating (is that a word?) we walked to the marina to engage in some serious water sprite fun, however, the marina was closed (why? We don't know). Undaunted, we leisurely walked to World of Disney. Since I looked like a pack mule with our mugs around my gutbag, the decision was made to purchased a Mickey Yin-Yang backpack to store our mugs in until we got back to DxL. Then onto DisneyQuest, where our UMPs worked! Yes, they're supposed to work, but I get such a charge when I use passes for the first time! DQ was practically empty, and we took advantage of this time to do Cyber Space Mountain, Mighty Ducks Pinball Slam, Animation Academy (which became a trend for me!) and various arcade games that were all-that-and-a-bag-of-chips when we were younger. Funny...the games seem harder and faster now than they did 17 years ago. Weird. But everything is now free to play with admission, except for the redemption games. We purchased the pictures that we drew in Animation Academy. For only $2.00, you get your picture, an animation academy 'diploma' with your name on it, and tips on how to draw Mickey Mouse and become a Disney Animator. Good deal! We each drew Pluto. (Figure 3) My very versatile spouse did his best with his Pluto drawing and appropriately entitled it "Pluto on Acid". (Figure 4)

We split up for a bit (IMO, an ingredient of a healthy marriage), and I headed to the Wonderland Cafe to send email to my friends and family. I quickly informed the Cheshire Cat (whose voice makes my blood run cold...I can't put my finger on it) that I was old enough to surf the web on my own and headed for Hotmail. I quickly found out that at those Internet kiosks, you can't visit some sites that set up cookies on the computer. Hotmail wouldn't let me access my email account nor would the Go.com email site (Disney owned!!). Nor would the Yahoo email site. So, I was forced off the web, and had to settle for sending an email card to Mom thought the DisneyQuest software. "Send an email card to your friends...if you have any" quipped the Cheshire Cat. Ew. When you send an email card from DQ, you type in your name, and the email addy of your recipient. Then, you are forced to choose your phrasing from drop menus. As soon as Mom read that I was "having a radical time, dude," she said she realized that those weren't my words. I selected a picture of DQ to go with my postcard and sent on its way. (Figure 5) Then I left the Cheshire Cat and found my husband.

An unpublicized feature of DisneyQuest is that it makes time fly, and it was soon 4:30 PM...back to DxL via the West Side Bus Stop. At the bus stop I met a 5th-grader named Joshua from Dayton Ohio. What a cool kid! We talked about Pokemon and Spiderman, and he told me that when I finally have kids (LOL!) I have to stay at All-Star Sports because it is the coolest and they have movies you can watch while your parents check in and two awesome pools. David and I didn't have the heart to say that Dixie Landings also has movies and 6 pools. We talked for about 10 minutes, and his 4-or-so year old brother practically clambered on my lap by the time their bus came. I guess Disney brings out the friendly in everybody. We got our room, and rode the speeding golf-cart-of-death to our room...opened the door and found...

Two double beds. Darn.

And a refrigerator...which we didn't request.

Next time, we'll just pay for the king bed so we're guaranteed one. But we were in Magnolia Terrace, so everything was cool. We called Housekeeping to take out the fridge, since we didn't need it. Then the phone rang, asking if this was room 8546. Yes, I replied, how can I help you? Then, I heard a bunch of strongly-accented words that I didn't understand. I've worked with the public for years, and am pretty good with accents, but I swear on the graves of all my dead pets that I had no clue what was being said. I repeated that this was room 8546, what can do for you? Then another string of words. I said this one more time, and was hung up on. Whatever.

Our telephone message light was flashing. The front desk relayed a written message from around noon: Erin's train was cancelled...driving down...see you tomorrow! Erin and John are friends of ours (also Disney nuts) who coincidentally planned a trip to WDW around the same time as ours (Sept 18th-25th at Port Orleans). They were taking the Amtrak train down from Wilmington, DE to Orlando, but Floyd flooded the tracks, so they instead utilized their van. We're to meet them Saturday for dinner at Cinderella's

Royal Table. After our peals of laughter, David got a headache, so I scooted to the Fulton's General Store to pick up some Tylenol since we forgot to pack it. (Doh!) I also picked up a praline, which I had heard much about. It was so sweet, I ended up throwing 1/2 of it away! I wanted David to be at 100% for the trip (but I was happy with at least 85%) so I let him nap whilst I explored. I said I'd be back at 6 to go to Wilderness Lodge.

I went back to Fultons to look around, especially for a plastic magnet featuring the resort logo. I have one from the Caribbean Beach Resort (Figure 6). Not the nice $6.50 metal ones, but the $4.00 rubbery plastic ones. Dixie

Landings didn't have one. According to the CM, they are redoing their logo and didn't get the plastic ones in yet. Only the metal ones. Eh. I snapped some photos of the resort and decided to check out Port Orleans. So I hopped the Sassagoula River Cruise with Captain Tom and went to P.O. I snapped some shots of their pool area. I especially liked the appearance of 'streets' and the way they inlaid the street names into the pavement corners with tile, just like I remember from New Orleans a few years back. I also liked their lobby, with the 'open air' look to it. No plastic magnets there, either. Eh. I checked out their food court and main pool. I liked the gators. I went back to the marina and by luck, got the boat with Captain Tom as it was making its way back from Downtown Disney. We had a great conversation about how cool it is to skipper a boat for Disney all day, and I made it back to the room by 6.

David was feeling much better, and informed me that the person I couldn't understand was from Housekeeping and they took the refrigerator. I was thoroughly embarrassed, but then we head to Wilderness Lodge. Hmmm...how to get to Wilderness Lodge? My plan was to bus to MK and take the water

launch to WL. After 15 minutes that wasn't happening, so we caught the bus to Epcot. Once we got off at Epcot, the Wilderness Lodge bus was waiting, so it only took us 20 minutes to get there from Epcot. Not bad...we actually arrived early. Enough time for us to inspect the much ballyhooed WL. Their gift shop did have the plastic $4.00 magnet. (Figure 7) Yay! We meandered through the lobby, and I must admit I did love that smoky smell and the fireplace.

Artist Point took us in early. Our server was Johnny from Spain, who was fantastic and didn't make us feel out of our league at all, even though the menu looked daunting. We each had the heirloom tomato with field greens salad, which was really good. I loved the breads with the 3 different spreads: onion butter, spicy peach marmalade, and roasted garlic. I ordered the Alaskan Halibut and David had the Cedar Plank Salmon, which arrived with the plank on fire! Wickedly awesome!!!! Both fish platters were good.

Although we were stuffed, it wasn't hard for Johnny to coax us into ordering the Berry Cobblers for dessert. That dish is downright sinful. We give Artist Point 5 out of 5 stars and definitely would return again in the future. I saved 20% off the dinner, which we tacked right back on as gratuity. Total for two with tip: $81.30.

Wilderness Lodge is pretty, but a bit too rustic for my taste. If we had to stay at a Deluxe Resort, we'd go for the Grand Floridian or Boardwalk before this one. I did adore how the outside lighting flickered as if they were lanterns. We caught the bus to Downtown Disney to make the connection back to DxL. This is where it gets hairy. Before going to DD, the bus stopped at both the Grand Floridian and the Polynesian. Believe me you, if I paid all that cash to stay at a deluxe resort, having to share a bus with two other resorts would really get my panties in a knot. The result was a jam-packed bus to DD. We got to DD around 10:30, but since we were up since 2 am, we decided to call it a night and get the bus back to DxL. We fell into bed exhausted.

Objectives Met:

Try a Praline
Dinner at Artist Point at 7 PM.
Purchase Wilderness Lodge Magnet
And from PassPorter:

The best thing about our day was: we got to Orlando relatively on time
The worst thing about our day was: the bus ride from WL to DD
The most interesting thing about our day was: the news that John and Erin's
train was cancelled
The most pleasant thing about our day was: the boat cruise to DD from DxL.
One word that best describes our first day is: Tiring!!!
Day 2: September 18, 1999 "And it rained....."

Cast of Characters:

Objectives:

Try Test Track
Send Postcards
Meet John and Erin at Cinderella Royal Table
Main Street Electrical Parade
Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin
Pictures found at http://www.net-gate.com/~ladygypsy/day2.htm

Oh...how groggy we feel.......

We slept in purposely today (around 10 am) so that we could get our bearings. In retrospect, it's better to get up early and come back for an afternoon break. Enough griping...

The first thing on my list...EPCOT---er---I mean Epcot. I have to say that Epcot is my favorite park. From the spacey-bloopy music outside to the majestic sight of SE, it fills me with awe. The plan is Epcot this morning, MK in the evening. I'm grumbling because this is an AP-holders special event evening and the 6 year old in me wants it to be an E-ride night. It's also the only chance we'll have to see the MSEP.

We headed to the food court for a quick fillup (Sprite for me, Coke Slushy for David) and put the mugs in my yin-yang backpack. I found that if you crumple a few napkins in the mug after you're finished drinking, it will absorb the droplets and your pack won't get wet. We got to Epcot around 11:15 or so, and had a practically empty bus on the way there. I saw the 2000 logo and part of the wand over SE...it's not as bad as I thought. (Figure 1) We entered the park and saw that the line was coming outside and wrapping around to the right of the entrance. Ew. I feel bad for the folks who go on that early in the morning. Usually, we can walk on in the late afternoon. I digress. We head to Test Track. It's a 75 minute wait. No thanks. For some reason, I don't ask about the singles line.

Next I take David into Ice Station Cool for his first time (I did it last year.) We frolicked in the snowy part and headed for the furthest-away fountain while the sheeple (our term for people who all herd toward the closest/easiest path) crowded at the first fountain. I explained to David that this was where you can try Coke around the world. I put my cup up to the Morocco Ginger Ale tap and David goes to the one right next to mine...Italy's Beverly. I swallow all laughter and say nonchalantly, "Oh...Italy...that one's great!" He fills up his cup and takes a big swig of Beverly. His eyes tell the entire story. "My God!! What is that stuff?" he croaked. That moment was worth all the waiting, scheming, and planning plus the money we spend on the UMPs. My favorites are the Chinese Watermelon drink and the Japanese Veggie drink. David didn't really like any of them. Tee hee! I guess the Beverly ruined his adventurous spirit!!

We meander around the fountain and see the Kristos "Alien" Gymnastic Group. (Figure 2) Wow. Someone should tell the LIB about them. These three gymnasts are dressed in head-to-toe light blue spandex. Clingy Spandex. I thought gymnasts were supposed to be...lithe and...thin. David and I noticed that one of the 2 alien males had...quite a clingy costume on. It is easy to do a loin inspection on those guys. The female alien was also...well endowed. Getting past the costuming, they really could climb!

Next, we decided to give Ellen's Energy Adventure another go-round, since the sky was starting to turn ominously dark. I thought the old UoE attraction was boring. In our opinion, the new one isn't much better. I sometimes wonder what Disney Exec woke up and said, "Hey! Let's get Ellen DeGeneres and Bill Nye together for an attraction...I bet they have great chemistry!" But it did get us out of the rain for 45 minutes. And I foundout the one form of energy that will never run out. My favorite part was Alex Trebek.

Then, the hunger pangs told us it was time for lunch. We ate at the Yakitori House in Japan. We each had the Yakitori Plates (chicken and beef on skewers over rice), David a Coke and me a Sprite. I also sprung the extra .99 for the shrimp chips, which I didn't care for. But we loved the Yakitori platters, and lunch cost us about $14.00. (No CM discount here). We enjoyed the sound of the Japanese drummers while we supped. Boom Boom Boom BoomBoomBoom Boom Boom Boom.

During our touring, we heard shrieking from the courtyard behind England. Four little girls come bounding out of the garden, screaming with terror. The Queen of Hearts was chasing them, making a chop-chop motion with her hand. Cool! I waited in line to take a picture with her. She wouldn't let the woman ahead of me in line take a picture unless she curtsied to the queen, so I followed suit and was allowed a picture. (Figure 3) As the queen turned away, the girls started to taunt her. Her Royal Highness then turned around quickly and the girls silenced. Wow! She played with a baby in coach, and it was cute to watch the older child in the back of the coach jump ship and run away! Finally, as the queen was exiting the courtyard, she happened to be following one of the girl's mother. "Mom! Watch out!" the little one shrieked. It's fantastic how a character can have such a presence!!

Oh. And we saw the Millennium Village pavilion. It's really...bright. Fortunately, it sits back from the main thoroughfare

We caught part of the International Songbook Show at Epcot. I believe the name of the venue is the America Gardens theater. Basically, famous songs from Disney movies are sung in the language of the country the tale heralds from. Snow White's "Some day my Prince will come" was sung in German, for example. We sat there until the United Kingdom was represented by Pooh. Yuck. After Pooh, we saw Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Chip and Dale (Paging Donald? Where is Donald?) sing "Conga" and "La Bamba" to honor our Spanish speaking friends. Then Goofy did a great job of singing the 50 states to the tune of Turkey in the Straw. Finally, all of the characters posed for pictures on stage. (Figure 4) Unfortunately, I missed the Beauty and the Beast segment.

We wanted to be certain that Erin and John arrived, so we went to Guest Relations to use the phone to check our hotel messages. Sure enough there was one. "Hey, Kim and David, this is John...we just got in and bought our APs and our tickets for tonight's E-ride night...We're in room blah blah mutter mutter" That's all I heard because I stopped comprehending English after he said that tonight was an E-Ride night. Yes!!!! I hung up the Mickey phone and told David the good news.

D: "Are you sure!"

K: "Yes...we need to go back to Dixie and buy the tickets before 4 PM!!"

D: "But you said it was an AP holder night...they have APs now...are you sure that wasn't what he meant?"

K: (losing confidence) Um...I think so...should we call them?

D: Call them back to be sure...what room are they in?

K: I...don't...know...I hung up the phone after I heard about E-ride night.

Back on the telephone to get connected to their room. Sure enough...John confirmed that it was changed into an E-Ride night for commoners like us. Yes! Now it was 2:30...we had to get back to DxL to buy the tickets, and then back to the MK to meet John and Erin at the castle at 4:30. We scooted out of Guest Relations and saw SE...with no line. We had to ride it! We walked right on and were quickly soothed by Jeremy Irons' voice. For some reason, I kept expecting him to say, "She was Dolores in school, Dolly to

her friends, Lo around the house, but to me she was....Lolita..." LOL! The attraction is a lot jerkier than I remember and the audio was fuzzy in spots. But I got my Spaceship Earth, so I was pleased. All of ATT Global Neighborhood was closed for refurb, except for the 8 foot tall telephone. Darn. I wanted to ride the data particle through the network again. (sarcasm) It's now 2:50.

(If possible, read the next passage with "Flight of the bumblebee" in the background)

Running out the exit...stamp the hand...run to the busses...the DxL stop is so far away...but the bus is there...starting to close the doors...run faster...faster...the doors open up and we get in and thank the bus driver. Bus pulls out and meanders at a molasses-like pace to the Bonnett Creek area. We gather our bags. Oh no! I forgot they stop at PO first. Shoo, shoo, Port Orleans people...grab your bags...get out get out! Hop out the bus, get in line at Guest Relations....wait wait wait. Hope hope hope that I wasn't wrong in hearing about the E-ride night. We get to the front of the line. We approach the CM.

K: "Excuse me...is tonight an E-ride night?"

CM: "Yes it is!"

K: "Two please!" ($21.20)

David has an interesting story about our wait in line for the E-ride tickets. I'll let him type since I didn't overhear.

David: Why my wife declares this story is interesting, I'll never know. As we were in line, I overheard a woman 2 people behind me ask one of the CM about the AP Magical Evening of Wonderment (the exact name I don't know but it's the festivity that this E-ticket is replacing..yea!).

Woman: "I want tickets to the AP Disney Wonderment of Wonders Night (or something like that)

CM: "I don't know what you're talking about."

Woman: "It's the night where only AP holders get to ride attractions after the park closes"

CM: "Who told you about this?"

Woman: "Are you serious? It's all over the Internet and other CM told me about it"

(CM now converses with other CM to discuss the situation, while the woman is quickly losing the Magic)

CM: "No one here knows of what you're talking about"

Woman now begins a string of expletives as we walk away with our E-Tickets in hand......sucks to be an AP holder. And now back to Kim.

Thank you, Dearie!

We get our tickets, fill up the mugs, and head out toward the buses. MGM bus...AK bus...Epcot Bus...DD bus...MK bus...hop on...D'oh! When you get on at the Mason/Dixon stations, you have 3 more stops before you leave the resort! As we drive, the bus driver begins a very vague spiel:

"Some of you may have heard over the radio that the MK is open late tonight. I really don't know what that's about but if you're interested go to Guest Relations once you get into the MK. The MK is open until 9 PM tonight unless you're part of that special, and then it's open until midnight. So ask Guest Relations." Maybe someone can fill me in...are they not allowed to advertise E-ride night outside of the brochure that's printed?

After what seems like ages, it is 4:00 and we meander onto Main Street USA.

(End Flight of the bumblebee)

You know, I really have to say that the Magic Kingdom is my favorite park. From the old-time music and shops to the majestic sight of Cinderella castle, it fills me with awe. We exchange our tickets for wristbands. As I eye the cookie shop lustfully, David turns to me and declares himself shaggy. He wants to get his hair cut at the Barber Shop. We'll run late, but what the heck. We walk in and he's seated right away. He tells the CM how he wants his hair and what clipper setting to use, and she does a bang-up job of it. I take out my camera, and she tells me to wait. she gets a Mickey apron to put over David's plain white one and takes a giant red pair of scissors. What a great shot. (Figure 5) Of course, the wife of the other guy getting his hair cut wants to take his picture, and the other CM obliges. Then 3 of the Dapper Dans stroll in. I get one to explain to me about the organ chimes that they use while singing, and we get into a great conversation. David's haircut cost $20 with tip (we think it was $16 for the cut alone.) Then, we charge to Cindy's place, getting there at exactly 4:45 and meeting John and Erin.

The page takes us up to our table. (In reviewing receipts for this TR, I notice that one from this dinner still reads King Stefan's. Bad show! Bad!)

We get our drinks (Ice Tea for David, Sprite for me, Diet Coke for Erin and Bottled Water for John). Salads were had by all but me (I was honestly a bit stuffed from Yakitori). Then, dinner came. John and David ordered the Thai BBQ Tuna steak. They dug into it to find it....rare on the inside. They asked the CM about it, and it turns out that it's supposed to be raw, and because it's a sushi-grade fish, it's OK to eat. But the menfolk really didn't want to eat rare tuna, so they ate the stuff around it. Erin had some veggie dish, and I had Jaq's shrimp, which were pretty good. The manager overheard David and John talking about the raw ishies, and graciously decided to take one platter off of the bill. Yay! Then, some guy a few tables down proposed to his girlfriend, (on his knee and everything...wow!) and received thunderous applause by all of us around. We got the lucky girl to show us her pretty ring, and the CM was taking pictures of them. She said

yes by the way. All in all, it was neat dining in the castle, but the food was nothing to write home about. We give it 2 stars out of 5.

As we went downstairs, Cindy was holding court with the Fairy Godmother. I snapped a picture of them, and we exited toward Fantasyland. My husband has a crush on Ariel, so the menfolk spent a few shameful minutes looking at her through Erin's camcorder's zoom lens. We headed back to Main Street so John and Erin could get their bands. I bought a black bucket hat with the peace, love, and Mickey Mouse symbols on it. ($16.96 including 20% discount) David bought me a Figment pin ($4.24, no discount because he surprised me with it and didn't have my card), which I put on my backpack next to my RADPin. We took the train to Toontown Fair (ever notice how many parents sit their kids on the outside of the seats even when told not to?) and rode the Barnstormer. What a cute coaster! Unfortunately, when I got off, my RADPin was nowhere to be found, but Figment was still there. We got to Fantasyland and rode It's a Small World. I've posted to the NG a few times how I feel about that ride. It never ceases to bring a lump to my throat. I think the world needs more sweetness. Then, we went to Adventureland. People were really lining the streets for the MSEP by this time. Pirates of the Caribbean had no line at all! The four of us got our own boat and sang the whole way through. Then, David bought a 'newsboy' hat with "Mickey" graffittied on the back. ($8.47 on sale with 20% discount) The youngsters wear them backward, but David looks quite smashing wearing it the normal way. It's good that we had hats, because it really started to rain about that time. We stood in line at the end of the parade route in Frontierland and waited in the rain. The parade happened, but because we were at the end we still had time to wait. I got such chills when the music started. For us grownups it was great fun, but I have a feeling the kidlets around us were blanking on some of the older movies. The circus bear was called Pooh, Pete's Dragon was called Puff, and King Leonidas received blank stares. I always loved the dancing couples at Cinderella's Prince's ball. It amazes me how they can stay in step and dance. IMO, Disney should make a brand new nighttime parade featuring the new and the old movies.

After the parade, we took advantage of our wristbands, and as the guests were filing out of the park, we went on BTMRR. It is sooooo much better in the dark! And just as we were coming out of the top of the mountain, we saw the fantasy in the sky fireworks explode overhead. Ooooooo...feel that magic? Then we did Haunted Mansion. Erin was spooked twice by the CMs there. Once, the maid slipped up next to her in the stretch room just as it got dark. When the light came back on, the maid was right in front of her. The second time, as we were being loaded into the Doom Buggies, there was a male CM holding a fake rose up to his nose. Erin put her arm around her hubby and as the Doom Buggy was leaving the loading ramp, the CM took the rose and dragged it down Erin's arm. Boo!

From there we ran in the rain to Tomorrowland and the Timekeeper. Cute. Hey,there's Jeremy Irons again! Where's Lolita? Then, we did Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin twice. I really bite at that. I came in last out of the four of us both times. Well, I confess, it was more fun to spin the car when David was aiming than it was for me to shoot. That Buzz animatronic was really neat! Then onto Space Mountain, where we did the other track for the very first time. OK...imagine you're looking at the loading area...usually we take the track on the right hand side. This time only the left hand one was open. (Alpha or Omega?) That track was awesome! Lots of drops and sharp turns.

The rain let up for 10 minutes, so we did Astro Orbiter. John sat that one out, but we chatted with him using the two-way radios. No Alien Encounter for me, thank you. It was getting late, so we meandered down Main Street. The castle was turning all sorts of pretty colors, and I wanted to take pictures, but we were out of film! Oh, well...

We went into the bakery and had cookies, cakies, and sodas. After that, soaked with rain, we took the bus to PO/DL and called it a night. I will always take advantage of E-ride nights from here on out.

Objectives Met:

Meet John and Erin at Cinderella Royal Table
Main Street Electrical Parade
Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin
From PassPorter:

The weather on our second day was rainy.
The best thing about our second day was: the surprise e-ride night
The worst thing about our second day was: rain
The most interesting thing about our second day was: (Kim) The Queen of
Hearts (David) The raw tuna
One word that best describes our second day was: wet.
Day 3: September 19, 1999 "...and it rained....."

Cast of Characters:

Objectives:

Dinner with Erin and John at Flying Fish Café
Boardwalk Magnet
Try Test Track
Pleasure Island
Illuminations 2000??
Mickey woke us up at 9:30 am. I immediately put on the Zip-a-Dee-Doo Dah Tip of the Day channel, trying to ignore the fact that the rain was continuing to plague us. We went to the food court for breakfast. David had the biscuits and gravy (being a Mississippi transplant to NJ, he doesn't get biscuits and gravy much) and I had the Mickey pancake. Yeah, I know it's a kids' meal. But it was cute!

The plan was to go to the Magic Kingdom in the morning, but we conquered that last night. So we decided to reroute to...DisneyQuest! Then, we were to meet Erin and John for the Ice Cream social at the Garden Grille at 2:45. (It was free. Yay!!!) Dinner was to be at Boardwalk's Flying Fish Cafe at 5:30.

We took the world's best boat ride to DD, and got to DQ around 11 am. Hm...it's crowded. Oh yeah...this is a Sunday and the locals must be out and about. The biggest drawback that I see to having everything free with admission is that people are less choosy about what they (and their kids) do.

Case in point. I went to the Animation Academy to draw Goofy. There are classes that start about every 45 or so minutes. You have to be there at the beginning to sign into the terminal. After that, all terminals are locked out. This makes sense, because if people could arrive at any time, the instructor couldn't help us draw Goofy's hat, because he'd be busy getting someone up to speed with drawing the circle for his head. Well, Granny comes by with a boy around 8 and two girls about 5 and 3. The boy wants to draw, so she plops the two girls on two terminals in the front row next to me, and sits with the boy at a terminal in the second row. She pushes the "OK" button signing them all in. Well, here comes the part where they have to type in their name to start. Granny helps the boy, and looks at me to help the girls. I show the girl next to me (the 5 year old) quickly how the thing works, since they weren't listening to the instructor. Well, 1/2 way through the class, Mom shows up and takes Granny and the kids to a different area. You now have three unused terminals that could have been occupied by people who were serious about it but are now wasted until the next class. If it cost points to do, like the old days, you could bet that those points wouldn't have been wasted. This bothered me for some reason. I don't know why, because I put together a decent Goofy and bought the printout for $2.12. (Figure 1)

I did the Mighty Ducks pinball slam, and David and I did Cyber Space Mountain. Hey...there's that Bill Nye again. Our coaster scored only a 3 out of 5 on Bill's Thrill-o-Meter, so we asked the CM how to get a 5.

Basically, all of the track pieces are colored green, yellow, and red. Choose all reds and "Danger" pieces and you have your 5. We did that and made ourselves thoroughly dizzy. It was great!!!

Oh, and some kid soiled his pants next to David while David was playing a video game. Where was Dad? On the stairs next to the kid, oblivious. But David beat the Star Wars game, though, and beat a hasty retreat to grab a breath of fresh air.

I tried the Addams family Uncle Fester electrocution machine and let go as soon as the current began. What a wimp I am. Then up to the Wonderland café to send mom another prefab email postcard. (After turning off the Cheshire cat's voice, naturally. It sounds like the voice of Pooh. Maybe that's why it grates me so.) For this postcard, I chose a picture of Ariel to send, since we were still being deluged with rain. At 1:30, we decided to head to Epcot. To get to Epcot from DD, you have to transfer at the TTC. The TTC bus stops at the Contemporary first. Again, if I were paying to stay at the Contemporary, I'd be spitting fire at the notion of sharing a bus. Which brings us to our "Bull-headed Tourist of the Day"

Female Guest enters the bus with an open stroller full of bags through the back doors and a child in tow. Plops the stroller with bags in the aisle.

Bus Driver: Ma'am, you need to fold that stroller before I can move this bus, please.

Guest: It is folded.

Bus Driver: Ma'am, please fold the stroller, or I can't drive the bus. It's a safety policy.

Guest: I don't know how...the stroller's new and I don't know how to fold it

(Kim's note: How did she get it out of the box?)

Bus Driver: (exits the bus and enters the back doors so he's face to face with the guest) Ma'am, please fold the stroller. It's for your safety and the safety of the guests around you.

Guest: (defiantly) Oh, fine.

Bus Driver: (reenters bus at front and takes his seat...looks back and the stroller is still wide open...Guest is defiant...driver drives bus)

From the TTC, we take the monorail to Epcot. I have that "Please stand clear of the doors...Por favor mantanganse alejado de las puertas" spiel as my windows startup noise, so I can recite it along with the tape. I hum the Simpson's Monorail song to myself as we get to Epcot. As we make the loop around FutureWorld, I can see men working on building the wand and the top of Mickey's sleeve on top of SE. Then, we use the radios to call Erin and John. They're in Canada, and will be at the Land in 15 minutes. We're on the monorail and will meet them at the Land. The radios are a good thing, when not used so constantly as to disturb those around you.

We enter the park and look at SE. Forget what I said before...Epcot is my favorite park. It's educational. We meet at 2:45 and the Ice cream social doesn't start until 3. So we do the Land Boat ride (after a 20 minute wait!), and learn that banana plants only produce one bunch of bananas in their lifetime. We are seated at 3:30 and are told that the ice cream will be made for us and the characters will come around. The ice cream concoctions were great. I'll describe them from the bottom up. There is a chocolate chip cookie 'glued' to the plate with what looks like Magic Shell chocolate sauce. There are strawberries and blueberries around the cookie on the plate. Then, a 9" tall waffle cone is glued to the cookie with the same sauce. The cone is filled with vanilla ice cream and topped with chocolate chips, Mickey Mouse chocolate bars, and whipped cream and a cherry. What a glorious creation. And it was free! Free! Free!!! Except for the drinks (sodas and water). Unfortunately, no characters came by to see us. (Figure 2)

After that, we headed to Test Track. The line was 60 minutes long. We asked about the singles line, and were on the ride in 10 minutes. I thought TT was a fantastic ride. To me, it's almost like a high-tech Mr. Toad. It was great fun, but I'd be disappointed if I waited 60 minutes for it. Wonder of wonders...it dumps you off in a gift shop! Using the computers, I realize that, if I get $6,000 for my Funky Blue Neon and finance at the lowest rate for 5 years, I can buy myself a Cadillac Seville for only $850 a month. After the spouse and I wiped the tears of laughter from our eyes, we exited the shop. As it was after 4, we decided to meander toward the Boardwalk for our 5:30 PS at Flying Fish. (Figure 3)I enjoy the walk through the international gateway, even though it was raining. The Boardwalk was really bedazzling. And, even better, they had the cheap plastic magnet! Yay! (Figure 4)The four of us decided that it would look more like Atlantic City if:

They had CMs sleeping on cardboard boxes
They had 3 or 4 fortune telling booths
They had people soliciting Timeshare sales--wait, scratch that
They sold $2.00 T-shirts
They sold bottled soft drinks in brown paper bags that you could carry around.
Oh, it's supposed to be 1940's Atlantic City? Forget it, then!

Our server was Jay from Morocco. We drank soft drinks, bottled water, and Erin had some sort of non-alcoholic concoction called a Coney Island Coaster. I had the field greens salad and the Tagiolini Dish, which was fantastic. David had the African Pompano, which he deemed succulent. We had a fantastic time watching the rain pour down outside. David's and my bill came to about $54 dollars, after the 20% discount and plus a 20% tip. (neat how it cancels out!)

After dinner, we bought a Mickey-icon woven throw for our sofa. It was $50.00 minus my 20%. I tried to have it shipped to the room.

CM: When are you checking out?

Me: (with pride) Friday!

CM: It won't get there in time

Me: But it's only Sunday.

CM: The resorts are different from the parks...our merchandise goes to a warehouse first, and then to the guestrooms.

Me: Oh. Ok. David'll carry it!

David: What?

Gosh...I had never been so early into a trip and felt like I it was ending so soon!

I took a picture of the "Boardwalk" sign. Unfortunately, the B wasn't lit so it read "oardwalk." At Six Flags, I'd be grateful that anything was lit at all, but at WDW, I guess I have higher standards. Lo and behold, the "B" came right back on...WDW is on the ball, IMO!

We then beat a path back to Epcot to get our priority 'standing' spot for Illuminations. I was hoping it was going to be the 2000 show, but t'was not to be. First, however, we caught some of Off Kilter performing in Canada. Then, onto France, where I was hoping to get some Beauty and the Beast Merchandise, but I didn't find anything. They had a whole pushcart on Madeline, but none of my favorite movie which was Oscar nominated for goodness' sakes! I mean, you can't swing a dead cat without hitting Pooh merchandise! Then, we split off from John and Erin for a bit to engage in some World Showcase cuddle time. You know, where we sit on a bench and I lean my head on David's shoulder and soak in the magic.

We met at 8:45 (in the rain) in front of Italy, where they had a spot overlooking the lagoon roped off. John showed the CM his coupon, and all four of us were admitted. We even got to sit on a (wet from the rain) bench.

Our preshow entertainment was watching people without coupons duck under the rope and be kicked out by the CM. I didn't envy her job at all! It blew my mind how many people thought that the rope didn't apply to them! Or the ones who shooed their kids under..."don't worry, she won't notice." She did. It may sound elitist, but we did feel special. 5 minutes before the show, a wedding party came out from the American Adventure building and went to their own roped off area. What a great way to get married! I tell ya, when David and I make the 10 year mark, we're renewing our vows at WDW.

Considering that the evening's showing of old Illuminations was one of the last ones, I found it ironic that I noticed things about this show that I never saw before. I liked the water screens. We're not really firework/parade/show people, so in the past we never waited or secured an early Illuminations seat. I think because of the special seating/standing area, I appreciated the show a lot more. Lesson learned: to give each parade/firework/show a fair shake.

On the way out we noticed that they were projecting a huge image of Figment on the Imagination! building. Is this new, or something I've never noticed before because I've always left Epcot before Illuminations?

Well, we were again thoroughly soaked, (Figure 5) so we hopped the bus and went back to the room to snooze.

Tomorrow will be an early day!

Objectives Met:

Dinner with Erin and John at Flying Fish Café
Boardwalk Magnet
Try Test Track
From PassPorter:

The weather on our third day was: rainy
The best thing about our third day was: (David) Free Ice Cream!!, (Kim)
Priority standing for Illuminations
The worst thing about our third day was: The continuing relentless rain.
The most interesting thing about our third day was: watching people who
believed they had all-access to the roped off areas.
One word that best describes our third day is: soggy
Day 4: September 20, 1999 "Are these bugs part of the tour?"

Objectives:

AK with Erin and John in morning (Backstage Safari tour)
Lunch at Tusker House
Afternoon break
Dinner with E and J at Boatwrights
Pleasure Island
I woke up before Mickey called. Today we're taking the Backstage safari tour that starts at 8:30 at Conservation Station. John is quite the Disney Commando, so we had to be out way early to ensure we made it there on time.

Vacation time for me means no news for me. I'm a news junkie and CNN addict, so when I'm away, I have no newspapers, no TV news, etc. Today, however, I relented. See, the rain was still coming, so I had to see what was up. So while David snoozed and waited for the 6:00 call from the Mouse, I turned on CNN with closed captioning for the hearing impaired and those of us with snoozing spouses.

<gulp> There's a Tropical Storm coming from the gulf...and it's headed right for Orlando. (Figure 1) Eye should pass over Orlando at 5 PM tomorrow. Crap crap crippity crap. Oooo...this bites bites bites. I may have forgotten to mention that we haven't bought ponchos yet. Since it is a warm rain, I don't mind the wetness. So for the past few days, we've been slogging around soaked to the bone. Today I decide to put the umbrella in the YinYang backpack (Figure 2).

Then the Big Cheese called with his ever-so-perky demeanor, startling David out of his slumber.

K: Good morning, darling!

D: umph oomph uumph

K: How did you sleep?

D: mutter mutter uumph

K: There is a Tropical Storm poised to hit us tomorrow.

D: What?

So began our day. John was driving us to AK, so we decided to all meet for breakfast at 7 am at Port Orleans's Foodcourt. It was a nice, misty 10-minute walk from Magnolia Terrace. I made a fool of myself by not paying for the food before trying to order. You see, in Dixie Landings, you get your food first and then pay. At Port Orleans, the registers come first. You order there and pick up your food at the window. I had the cinnamon sugar French toast, and David had a bagel and beignets. (OK, I had some beignets too) He had a Coke; I had a Hi-C (all the taste of oranges with none of the nutritional benefits!) Erin packed extra clothes in case we got soaked on Kali River Rapids. We didn't, as we thought that we'd already be soaked from the rain.

By 7:30, we were in the AK parking lot. By 7:45, we were positioned in front of the Rainforest Cafe. There was a crowd there. When the restaurant opened, they all charged in, and we cut through the gift shop to the other admission line. We were the only ones waiting to get into AK at that location. It amazed me that so many people get to AK early just to have breakfast at RFC! We dined there twice and found it was nothing to write home about. The CMs at the gate were a riot! They let us in early because John convinced them that we were going to be late for the tour if we didn't get a head start.

Once we were in the park, we charged commando style through the Oasis, past the Tree, nearly treading on some little lizards in the process. Then a Disney photographer corralled us. I have to say, I hate how theme park employees force you to take a picture. OK, they don't force you, but they don't ask you either. They command you.

"Everyone get together for a picture in front of the tree!" So we did. But I still hate it.

After the picture we ran to the Wildlife express...and on the train. There were only 4 other commandos--um--guests on the train with us, and they were heading to the tour. We got to Conservation station at 8:20 and checked in with Jenny, the tour guide. Then, we went back into Conservation Station to escape the drizzle and to snooze on the bench. I liked the murals in CS, but the animal screeching sounds were too much after a while...especially in the bathroom, where I learned all about poop. Jenny informed us that the tour wouldn't start until 8:45, to make sure everyone got there on time. We glared at John, who took a picture of the three of us slumped on a bench.

Finally, it was time for the tour. I really had a nice time on the tour. There were 15 of us, which Jenny said was a large tour. First, we started out looking at the Quarantine building where animals live for 30-60 days before being integrated with the rest of the herds. Then we saw the giraffe barn, and met Miles, a 5-year-old giraffe who is going to be part of the Animal Kingdom Lodge's savanna. We met his keeper, who was feeding him carrots. One of our fellow tourists just reached right up there and started petting Miles. I love animals, but I'm a bit wary about touching the wild ones!

On to the elephant barn, and Jenny told us about ivory tusks and poaching. (Gotta get that moral lesson in there somewhere!) Jenny handed around a polished elephant tusk that was seized from some unscrupulous poachers. It was heavy! Then, she showed us a tusk "au natural" that broke off when one of the elephants rammed a tree with it.

While we were in the elephant barn, we were shown how all the animals are trained to do certain things so their keepers can check them out (all animals open their mouth, stand on their back legs, lift their feet and turn around on command)

And I know you were missing it, so here is the Dumb Tourist Question of the Day: Jenny: We have 6 female elephants and 2 male elephants in our herd. We keep them in this building at night, and they are separated.

Tourist: How many male elephants do you have?

Jenny: (pause) Two.

We learned that male elephants form a bachelor herd, and only mingle with the females to mate. At that moment, David and John formed their own bachelor herd, and walked 3 steps ahead of us for the rest of the tour. Men!

I wonder if they remember that elephant herds are matriarchal society and actively kick the males out after they reach a certain age?

We went to Conservation Station Administration (CSA) to watch a video on Animal Husbandry, or the training of animals. We watched a 15-minute video on how the animals respond to clicks and to a target stick. As we went through CSA, I found a pile of Eyes and Ears (the WDW CM newspaper, not the body parts.....ewwwwww) on a table and Erin and I each snatched one. (We get them at TDS, but 3 weeks late).

We got to play with the boomer ball, which is a puzzle ball with food (in our case, human treats of candy!) inside. This keeps the animals entertained and is called 'enrichment.' I'm looking for a boomer ball for David. Maybe I should try e-bay.

Then to the forage house, where the diets for each animal are meticulously prepared. Do you know that the animals eat Barilla pasta? Did you know that Barilla is the priciest pasta on the grocery store shelves? We saw literally hundreds of pounds of fruit, whole freezers full of leaves and plants, and bags of frozen dead mice and frozen day-old chicks. AK CMs monitor all food that is given to the animals, so they know exactly what is being eaten each day.

Then, we went to the operating rooms (at Conservation Station, you can see this from the other side of the glass!) and saw a Stork being put under anesthesia and being operated on. Jenny showed us X-rays and had us guess what the animal ate that didn't agree with them. A good chunk of the surgeries that AK vets perform are on animals that aren't even part of AK! If an animal is taken in with a problem, AK vets will try to fix it. Three cheers for them!

Finally, we went back to CSA and met an AK trainer and a Giant Blue-Tongued Skink. (Darn..I was hoping for something cuddly). We wrapped up the tour outside in the drizzle by filling out a survey, getting swarmed by tons of those darn Love Bugs, and getting EXCLUSIVE Animal Kingdom Backstage Safari Pins (Figure 3) and tips on conservation.

After the tour, we literally picked the bugs off of our selves (ew ew ew ew ew) and went to KS, where we picked up a FastPass for about an hour later.

That gave us the opportunity to eat a leisurely lunch when we were supposed to be waiting in line.

Charlie, my 16 pound paperweight of a cat, knocked all of my receipts off of my desk. Some of them are missing, presumably behind the desk. Tusker House was one of them. I had a Sprite and a ham and turkey and swiss sandwich. It was good. That's all I remember.

Back to KS and scooted through the FastPass line. With the e-ride night, the Magic Delivery Illuminations priority standing, the Test Track Singles line and now FastPass, I truly felt elitist. Which, although detrimental in every day life, is a cool feeling to have while on vacation. It also meant we got to miss the queue videos with the dead, poached rhino. (Do they even still have that?) I love the safari.

IMO, there are two ways to deal with the repetitive poaching story. The first one is to resent it and be bored by it. The second way is to throw yourself into it. I prefer the second way...this way you really enrich it for the guests who haven't seen it yet. (I guess that's my TDS experience speaking!) Plus, one of the morals of the Backstage Safari was still fresh in the old gray matter. So, we gasped when hearing of Big Red's mishap, and cheered when the driver asked for our participation. We cheered the rifleholder when he announced that everything was OK. Yay!

Then, we scooted off to Asia for Kali River Rapids to get a FastPass. But the line was nonexistent, so we ended up walking right on. I was looking forward to this ride--attraction for a while. I put our camera and cash into a ziploc, stowed it in the Yin-Yang backpack, and put it in the designated receptacle. Buy the time the other guests on the ride were done stowing their stuff, the plastic was bulging up. David and I were facing backward at the start. He was on my left, and Erin and John were on my right. I guessed this was good, because I figured it would spin around and we'd be spared. But the ride was so short! A bump here, a bump there, a bump here, a truck stuck in mud, then some trees burning, and the drop!

David's shirt was entirely soaked, and I was wet down my left side. Any streams of water during the ride were so high that the raft went right under them. David used the wetness as an excuse to buy a new T-shirt, a plain white tee with a teeny navy Mickey silhouette embroidered on the pocket. Very nice.

Next on the agenda was the Tarzan Rocks show, which was at 3:15. Erin and John wanted to see if we could to Countdown to Extinction beforehand. The line was 20 minutes, and the show was in 30 minutes, so they opted for the FastPass. (Neither David nor I care for CTX, so we passed).

On the way to the arena, I got a Mickey Ice Cream Sandwich and David got a Minnie Mouse Strawberry Fruit bar. I taunted him about the femininity of his choice. I received a poke in the ribs. Ow.

Well, I'm sure y'all know by now that the Tarzan Rocks show is basically a Rock'n'Roll style concert featuring the songs. Plus, for the attention-span impaired, lots of inline skating stunts and a 5 minute segment with Tarzan and Jane swinging on a vine. My observations:

One of the singing female leads was stone-bald! Bald! Shaved-head bald! I thought Disney had some sort of standards. I mean, I can't paint my fingernails red at TDS, but this chicky can shave her head? I guess performers don't fall under the "Disney Look" guidelines.
Jane certainly stripped down quickly. In 45 seconds she want from the full Victorian yellow dress to a tank top and skimpy skirt.
The show was a non-stop assault on the senses. Not in a bad way, but just constant. No breaks to take anything in.
The "Trashing the Camp" song is in my head to this day. Doo ba doo Ba doo ba doo Ba doo ba doo Ba Da Da Doo Doo Doo Bee Doo. Boooooo--dooooooo--beeee---yewwwww!
In the end, we were a bit disappointed. I would have liked it to reflect the movie a bit more, but the rest of the crowd seemed to like it. Maybe I'm getting curmudgeonly.

At that point in time, David and I bid adieu to the Erin and John. We've been very neglectful of our afternoon breaks these past few days, and wanted to take a breather before meeting them at Boatwrights at 6. So, we scooted to the bus stop and got on the bus with no delay. The bus stopped at Blizzard beach, but it was so nice to sit, we didn't mind. We got back to the resort around 4:45. David was feeling nappish. So I let him be, instructing him to meet us at Boatwrights at 6. He promptly conked out.

I grabbed some dollar bills and the camera, intending to go to the Marina to rent a small boat and travel the mighty Sassagoula. I was going to get some fish food and feed the fish (and ducks) from the boat, but unfortunately, the Marina closed at 5, one minute before I got there! Oh, well! I got some fish food and just fed them from the dock. There is a 3-legged sea turtle in there, along with a lot of, well, David would know their names...but they're all fish to me. I killed a good 20 minutes doing that, and then, wonders of wonders...it started to rain! Of course the fish didn't mind, but I was a mite tired of being wet, so I headed into Fultons and fawned over some 2000 merchandise that I wouldn't let myself buy until the year 2000. Then, I went into the Medicine Show Arcade (Figure 4) to waste some quarters. Finally, the crackle of the two-way radios told me that Erin and John were in the vicinity.

It was 6:00 PM...Erin and John were approaching, and I saw hubby meandering across the bridge. All was well.

The Boatwrights meal was great. Thanks to my sweet kitty-cat (FYI -- he is also knocking my pens off of the desk one by one), I can't find the Boatwrights receipt. But I do remember the meal being very good, and it came with free salad. I most likely had a Sprite to drink!

Erin said, "we have a present for you," and she gave us the picture of us all in Animal Kingdom (Figure 5). We totally forgot to pick it up as we left. Thankfully, we have friends to remember those things.

Finally, off to Downtown Disney/Pleasure Island! John had the mini-van, so we clambered in and found no problem parking. We started out ducking the rain by making keychains at a little sheltered pushcart. Then, I got a Guest of Honor Keychain. Then, we were supposed to meet at the Art of Disney, but the bachelor herd charged ahead of us in the rain and we lost them.

Luckily, each party had a two-way radio. Erin and I darted into Disney At Home (where I saw great throw pillows to go with the Mickey throw we bought at the Boardwalk store!) and tracked down the menfolk with the help of the radio. We spent some time and money in the Art of Disney store. There was a CM there drawing pencil sketches of the animated characters. He had a huge book to choose from. There was a bin in front of him with completed characters. David found a Genie one, and Erin found a Pocahontas one. Nothing struck my fancy, until I found out that he took requests from the book and it would be done in an hour! Cool! So I commissioned a Lumiere picture. He's my favorite, don'tcha know. We bought a villains poster and had everything sent to the room. The pencil sketches were $25 a piece and the poster was $8.00. Minus my 20%. Yay!

Then, onto PI. We entered the Adventurer's club. Fletcher Hodges was playing a ukulele on the sofa upstairs, singing the blues. David threw some coins in his open ukulele case and Fletcher broke up laughing! We hung in there admiring the Yakoose and the statue in the middle (can the LIB inspect non-living loins like that statue?). David and I ordered sloe gin fizzes, but they were really weak tonight. Then, we got in line outside for the 10:20 show at the Comedy Warehouse.

Frankie and the West End boys started their set just as we got in line and were really rocking! Erin and I were doing the twist and mashed potato while the bachelor herd looked on. I was hoping to see the one and only Layden that I heard so much about from Sue's reports, but he wasn't on tonight. We got seats toward the back, but still at the 'shelf table' so we were pleased. David had a Bailey's and coffee and I had a (much better) sloe gin fizz. The number of children there surprised us at such a late hour. You can tell the comedians were really trying to keep the show clean. For example, the first song was done about a honeymooning couple. One of the comedians said, "have fun in bed!" and the other one said, "you know, kids, we mean have fun reading books and coloring while you're in bed." He then had this exasperated look. During one of the skits, a comedian had to 'die.' He wanted one of us to shout out the name of something we bought at a garage sale that we never used. I yelled "Potpourri Steamer!" So, the poor soul died by a potpourri steamer explosion. For the last skit, they were looking for a pet peeve. They called on a girl named Dani (who had to be no older than 13) and she said, "my sister, like, always hangs on me in the swimming pool!" Not the best fodder for fun, but they did their best. We hung in the A.C. a bit more after the show, but then beat a path to the van before midnight struck.

To bed with us!

Objectives Met: (Yay! 100%)

AK with Erin and John in morning (Backstage Safari tour)
Lunch at Tusker House
Afternoon break
Dinner with E and J at Boatwrights
Pleasure Island
From PassPorter:

The weather on our fourth day was: damp and rainy
The best thing about our fourth day was: Animal Kingdom Backstage tour
The worst thing about our fourth day was: All of those lovebugs.
The most interesting thing about our fourth day was: shopping at the Art of Disney
One word that best describes our fourth day is: wet
Day 5: September 21, 1999 "Are these bugs part of the tour?"

Objectives:

Water Mice!
Ah...a nice, relaxing, unplanned day. I woke up expecting monsoons. To my surprise, I could see a bright ball of gas up in the sky in between the clouds. I looked into the guidebooks to find out what it was, but there was no mention of it. Maybe it was Illuminations 2000 testing.

We snuggled in bed and decided what to do this morning. The only thing on our schedule is to meet Erin and John at the Contemporary to ride the Water Sprites. That's at 2:30. It's 9:00 am. We decide to head to MGM-Disney Studios-Disney/MGM studios. You know, the park that's not MK or EP or AK. As we showered and got ready, I turned on the DVC channel. I'm such a schemer...always trying to plant ideas!

We boarded the uncrowded bus at the Magnolia Terrace Bus stop and headed out. We noticed that most sheeple (our term for people who blindly follow the person in front of them when there are lesser-crowded and quicker alternatives for getting where you want to go) were going through the first 3 turnstiles, leaving the last few empty. (Figure 1) Baaa! Goofy, Pluto, and Chip and Dale were greeting outside the gates.

Did I mention that MGM is my favorite park? I love the Hollywood atmosphere and swanky music. And the streetmosphere players are top-notch. It seems that MGM is the best place to meet characters. And the sight of the Chinese Theater takes my breath away.

We blew through the turnstiles and headed to Rock 'n' Roller Coaster (RNRC from here on out) to get a FastPass. But...there was only a 10-minute wait! (Figure 2) So we went through the queue too quickly to even get more than a glimpse at the cool antiquated equipment. (Vinyl?) Gosh. I never knew how much Aerosmith cared about their fans. We're getting a super stretch, baby!

I've tried Batman and Robin: The Chiller at Six Flags Great Adventure, so I'm aware of linear induction. And I'm a looping coaster veteran. But that makes this coaster no less exciting. I really enjoyed the look of the trains. Very neat. And I thought having a soundtrack was awesome. When the 'car' revved before our takeoff, the adrenaline was pumping! Before we knew it...POW! The signs lighting up as we approached them were a great touch. And although some say it's too short, I think that it was a perfect length. Any more would have been overkill. I didn't like the pictures, though. I looked smushed.

We were really pumped for Tower of Terror (More terror than ever!!!). That was a 20-minute wait as well, which is about 1 hour less than the amount of time we waited for it the first time we rode. While we were in line, the CM was playfully harassing a youngster who was wearing an IOA T-shirt. He unfolded an MGM park map and had the kid tuck it under each arm so it wrapped around his shirt! It was all taken in fun.

If I had a wish, I'd love to explore the lobby and library parts of ToT by myself after closing. I never get enough time in line anymore to really appreciate it. Most intriguing to me are the books in the library. I love old books. Are they real books or 'prop' books in the library? Through the boiler room, to the elevator...front row end seat for me. My heart really starts beating when the car moves into the shaft and we can feel the heat from outside. I wait for the cinderblock wall to appear...that's when I know we're dropping. Wha? I didn't see the cinderblock wall... no fair! Ok...we went down a bit, than up a bunch, and down a floor, then down a bunch, then up a bunch, than down a bit, then down a bunch then up a bunch then all the way down. Or so I think. Once again, a fantastic ride. Two thumbs up, baby!

Another perk of the Rock and Roller Coaster opening is that you get to take pictures of the Tot from head on rather than the 'from an angle' way. (Figure 3)

A quick stop in the "Villians in Vogue" shop. O my goodness...a Gaston shirt! Be still my beating heart. But I walked away from it.

Over to Muppet Vision Three-D! (Figure 4) Our favorite show. Surprise...no line! We caught the pre-show video just before the penguins entered the theater. We didn't even have to move all the way to the end of the line! The Swedish Chef rocks. Just so you know. I love the bubbles, and watching people who are experiencing the show for the first time. (happy sigh)

Miss Piggy was greeting in the courtyard after the show. I threw David the camera (not the smartest thing to do) and got in line to meet her. She's the ultimate Diva! When it was my turn, a boy hopped in front of me, but the CM was great, and let him know that I was there first. See, adults have rights in WDW too! Huzzah for the CM! Yay! I told the Divine Swine that she was my role model and that the thrill of meeting her is the highlight of my trip. She allowed me to kiss her hand and granted me with a picture. (Figure 5) I was hoping she'd do a "Hi-Ya!" karate chop on some unsuspecting male, but t'wasn't to be.

Ooo...hungry. How about the 50's Prime Time café? We didn't have PS, so I didn't think we could get in. Wait...I forgot! This is the value-season! A table for 2 was ready for us in 10 minutes.

"Mom Valeria" was serving us. David vowed to be very well-behaved, unlike last time when he shot a straw paper at me and it missed and hit the waiter. The whole room 'shamed' him.

We ordered cokes and onion strings from Mom, who was pleased with our pleases and thank yous. Then I ordered the BBQ chicken sandwich, and David had a turkey club. The family next to us were all sent to the bathroom to wash up, since they couldn't tell Mom the color of the soap. I wasn't too pleased with my BBQ chicken...it was a bit on the tough side. I knew right off I couldn't clear my plate. David also conceded he was stuffed. But...he got a sneaky look to him. Before I knew it, he took the rest of his sandwich and balled it up in his napkin and hid it between his back and the booth. Mom cooed and praised, and announced how good he was and bestowed upon him a sticker. It was like you shaved 20 years off our ages, and 7 year old Kimmy was pretty jealous that 9 year old David got a sticker by cheating. So she grabbed the napkin from behind him and showed it to mom. David got another public shaming from Mom and the room, but Kimmy was branded a tattletale. But I didn't care. Mom took back his sticker, and he was mortified that I did it. (Figure 6)

But...but...I was only showing him that getting a prize that you didn't deserve was wrong! We paid the bill (around $45...no CM discount here!) and scooted out. Although we love the atmosphere, this is the second time we've been less than pleased with the food (one star out of 5 on our scale) so we probably won't be back.

<note: for those following along with pictures, go to .... to see the rest of the pictures from day 5>

It's was 1:30, so we took the bus to the TTC, and then the monorail to the Contemporary (please stand clear of the doors.) Hey, I wonder if they have the cheap $4.00 plastic magnet? Nope. But I love their gift shops. I decided to show David the best view in the World. Into the elevator and up up up to floor 15 and the California Grill, which was totally unoccupied except for a manager who looked puzzled to see us. I asked about the observation deck, and he pointed us that way. Wow...what a view! (Figure 1) Many pictures were snapped that morning, and at 2:10 we called John and Erin on the radio. They were supposed to be at MK. They answered from Main Street. I told John I could see him from where we were at and that he was wearing a nice hat. "Where the heck are you?" he replied. LOL!

Well...we headed down to the marina and I presented my TDS card to the CM, who gave us each a water mouse at a 50% discount! Yay! When you rent at the Contemporary, you pretty much have free rein to explore Bay Lake and the Seven Seas Lagoon. David went zooming off. I went at a more leisurely pace. See, I don't swim, and I was feeling a bit skittish in such a fast boat in such a vast expanse of water. I've done water sprites and mice before at the CBR, CS, and Downtown Disney. Those waters were smaller, though. I took the camera and went to take some pictures of Wilderness Lodge, Discovery Island and others. I looked around me, and there was nobody close, so I put the mouse in neutral and took out the camera. Then, this guy comes charging at me from nowhere. I was positive he would have hit me had I not threw the throttle to forward. My boat lurched forward, and the wake from the other guy's boat splashed into mine, wetting me quite nicely. Unfortunately, I didn't see the boat color or number. But the Boston Whaler patrol boat was on his tail. This pretty much spooked me, so I head back to the dock. I was riding into the wind, so my glasses were totally soaked with water by the time I flagged David down. He agreed to let me ride as his passenger. As we pulled into the dock, we saw Erin and John take off on their mice. The Marina CM was great about it, and didn't charge us for my boat. David hopped in my boat as the driver, thus, reducing our top speed by about 95%, which couldn't have made him happy, but he's so sweet and understanding. We zoomed around the water a bit but the 1/2 hour ended quickly. It only cost us $9.00! Love that CM discount. John was back, having not enjoyed his ride either. He flagged Erin down on the radio, and she came in.

What to do now? Erin and John take off, and David and I hang around the Contemporary lobby. It was 3:15. He really liked the Mice, so we agree that until 4:30, he can ride the mice, and I'll resort-hop on the monorail. We go up to the (now different) marina CM.

Kim: Hi...I'm a TDS CM (show card) and this is my husband.

David: Hi

K: David wants to ride a water mouse but I'm not up to it. Can he get my discount if I'm not with him in the boat.

CM: TDS doesn't get a discount. Where's your MainGate Pass?

K: I'm not a manager, so I don't get a MainGate pass. I won't fight with you, but 20 minutes ago, we got 50% off a sprite rental. (shows CM receipt) If we can't do this, it's OK.

CM: (sigh) Fine. I'll do it so we can be consistent, but it wasn't supposed to happen.

K: Well, I don't want you to get in trouble.

CM: I'm the manager...I won't get in trouble, but I'm going to speak with the CM who did this.

Yikes! I felt horrible for the CM who gave the discount. But David got into his Mouse, and I was free to roam. I saw a neat Mickey sculpture near the marina that I thought was adorable, (Figure 2) and I Love the Contemporary elevator floor announcements!

On the monorail to the Polynesian...a hotel that I always wanted to stay at. Someday. Ooo...I just loved that twangy South Seas "Love Boat" music when you get it. It did take me a minute or two to get into the theming.

CM as I was passing by: Aloha!

Kim: Hi!

CM: Aloha!

Kim. Hi?

CM: Aloha!

Kim: Aloha?

CM: Very good!

I snapped some pictures of the wonderful lobby (Figure 3) and had a Mickey-shaped Krispy treat. Ooo! Do they have the much coveted cheezy plastic magnet? No! Eh.

I sat on one of the benches and soaked in the atmosphere (and scarfed down the treat). It even smelled tropical! (sigh) I do want to stay here. But let's visit the Grand Flo. I'm sure they don't have the cheezy plastic magnet, but it's on the monorail line.

The Grand Flo is David's dream. It's mine too, but I dream of Boardwalk and Poly first. I felt so...small here. (Figure 4) But that didn't stop me from entering the gift shop and finding...

A plastic magnet! Yeeee-hawww! (Figure 5)I purchase it with CM discount and shove it in the gut-bag. There is a live pianist in the lobby playing old songs. Wow.... I meander around a bit, snapping pictures of the chandelier and the lobby and peering into the shops. I picked up a MK guide. Hm...let's go to the MK tonight...I'll bounce it off David. David...David....

Yikes! The time is 4:20! To the monorail! I de-trained at the Contemporary and dashed to the marina. No David. But I did have 7 lovebugs on my foot. Ewwwwwwwwwww! (Hopping around like a madwoman)

Then, a catcall from behind me. It's David! He's so sweet. We go back into the lobby and plop on some chairs.

D: I have an idea for tonight.

K: Me too. You first.

D: Let's spend the last 2 hours at the MK tonight.

I love this man more than anything.

So, we walk to the MK, and decide to catch the flag-lowering ceremony. I've heard so many great things about it. We get to the MK at 4:50, just in time to grab some cookies and Cokes at the Bake Shop and bust a move (remember that phrase? I'm old) back to a bench in front of the train station.

Wow...that was the most patriotic thing I've seen in years. The band played (Figure 6), the color guard took down the flag (Figure 7), and wow, am I proud to be from the USA. Cinderella castle ahead of me, my love next to me, a chocolate cookie in my hand, patriotic tunes. Can it get better? Oh, yes, it was SUNNY! (Figure 8)

You know what? I have to say that the Magic Kingdom is hands-down my favorite of the four theme parks. It just is. No other park inspires the feelings that this one does.

After the festivities, we went to do some attractions that we didn't experience before. The PeopleMover was first on the list. We had the entire train to ourselves, and it was such a soothing ride. Maybe we smooched on it...maybe we didn't.

Next, to Peter Pan, with a 10 minute wait. That's always been my favorite. Then, Snow White's Scary Adventures, which traumatized me when I was 6. I haven't been on since. Well, 21 years later it really wasn't bad! The first scene when the Evil Queen turns around and-well, you know...it still chilled me to the bone.

David told me it was time to conquer what I truly despised and that I would be a better person because of it. He'd be next to me, holding my hand.

So we approached the line for the Pooh ride, which took the place of my former favorite ride in the Magic Kingdom, Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. The line was, at 25 minutes, the longest MK line we had the entire trip. I made a vow to be as unbiased as possible about the ride. To be honest, I thought the storybook pages in the queue were very bland and didn't require much imagination to come up with. Soon, we were in our Hunny Pot. So...the gist of it is that Pooh looks for honey, Pooh has a bad dream, it rains, we float, it gets windy, Tigger shows up, we bounce, then everything's OK. Not necessarily in that order. I took a picture of Toad with Owl. (Figure 9) The bouncy and floaty parts were cute, as was the Pooh floating out of his bed scene. I can tolerate Tigger. Oh, no...a gift shop! Overall...eh. So-so. I'll never go on it again. If we have kids, David can take'em.

(Kim's opinion: The reason why TDS isn't doing as well as usual is due to the oversaturation of the market with Pooh stuff and the lack of focus on the Fab 5 and movie characters.)

We rounded out our MK tour with the Legend of the Lion King. This one is a keeper. On Main Street, I purchased the Mickey Icon stamp kit. I may just do a Mickey Head border around my living room. We also picked up the Main Street Electrical Parade CD, with the whole 11 minute song, and the orchestral version.

As we left the MK and headed back to DxL, I was struck with sadness, as I realized this was the last time I'd see the MK on this trip. Oooo...don't you hate when those 'trip is ending soon' feelings sneak up on you?

We had the mini pizzas at the DxL food court, which were OK but smelled a lot better than they tasted. Then headed back to the room to kick around and call the folks. We rang Erin and John's room, but they were already out for the evening. Hmm...parks closing soon or closed...what now?

DisneyQuest!!! For the fourth time!

We got on the bus at the Resort Center Stop (better chance of getting a seat). It was already pretty crowded. A family was sitting in the front 'reserved' seats. The last seat closest to the driver was empty, but had a humvee of a stroller folded and leaning up against it. Next to the stroller was an 8 year old boy, next to him was his mom holding a smaller child on her lap. We arrive at Marketplace, and the bus fills up more than it empties. Some folks are standing. A lady loudly croaks from behind us, "There'd be an extra seat up there if that boy would move his stroller!!" Now, between you and me, I've never seen an 8 year old boy own a stroller. But hey...Off-season DD bus rides are usually cranky I guess. We stop at PI, where more people squeeze onto the bus. A mom lifts her two small ones over the stroller and sits them both on the seat, saying **to the boy** "You know, my kids are a lot more tired than your stroller is!" OK, she got the job done, but IMO there was a nicer way to say it. And talk to the Mom for goodness sake! Isn't it obvious that the kid had no choice about where the stroller went?!?!? Yipes! We managed to squeeze off the bus at West Side and scurried to DisneyQuest.

We got the scoop on what gives you a 5 Thrill rating on Cyber Space Mountain (CSM). Pick all pieces that show up red or with the word "Danger." Because it's not a 'real' coaster, the laws of physics do not apply. We were starting our other coasters with high hills, to try and get speed. But we didn't need to do that! CSM will launch you right into a loop if you want it that way. So we went back and concocted a '5' coaster. The Turbo Thrasher. The next minutes made me glad you have strong restraints in that pod. We walked out dizzy, but exhilarated.

A little after 11:30, we were done, so we headed to the PI bus stop (silly me thought that the busses stopped running to West Side after 11-Wrong!) We get in line and get on the bus last. I get the last seat (one of the 'save these seats for disabled/elderly/anyone who thinks they deserve them' seats), and David is standing in front of me. The guest sitting directly across from me has her bags on the seat next to her. We lurch out of the PI bus stop and head to West Side. Huge line of people there. The door opens and David moves to stand at the back of the bus. The guest with the bags snippily says to me, "You know, he could have sat here..." and she pushes her bags to the floor. I'm starting to lose patience at this point. I'm human. "A bit late now, don't you think?" I reply. (Meeeeoooowwww! Hissssssss...) Luckily, at this point people are standing in the aisle between us, so conversation ceased. The bus lurches into gear, and we start rumbling toward Port Orleans. Then, my leg gets wet! Fearing the worst, I look up, and a standing guest is holding two refillable PO mugs and whatever liquid was left is now dripping off my leg. I looked startled and perhaps a bit irritated (it was sticky). She snapped at me, "Hey...I have to hold on to my daughter to make sure she doesn't topple over! OK?" The girl was about 7. Kim's response was:

a) No problem, I'll just lick it off. I enjoy being dripped on by strangers

b) If you care so much about your kid, why is she out so late?

c) Hey, your soul-sister is sitting across from me...the one with the bags. Talk to her.

d) None of the above.

The answer is d) none of the above. In retrospect, I should have offered her daughter the seat. But the crowded bus, the abundance of overtired crying children and the fact that my vacation was slipping away from me made me curmudgeonly. I hate being grumpy.

We emptied out a smidge at P.O. and David and I de-bussed at the Dixie Landings Resort center to fill up our mugs which I carefully had stored in my backpack so as not to get anyone wet with any remaining mixture of our slobber and soda!!!! Sorry.

Then, to bed with us. I was cranky anyway.

Objectives Met: (Yay! 100%)

Water Sprites at Contemporary
From PassPorter:

The weather on our fifth day was: windy, partly cloudy
The best thing about our fifth day was: Tower of Terror, Rock 'n' Roller Coaster
The worst thing about our fifth day was: The bus ride from Pleasure Island to Dixie Landings
The most interesting thing about our fifth day was: David's public shaming at 50's Prime Time Cafe
One word that best describes our fifth day is: relaxing
Day 6: September 22, 1999 "We AGREED 3 PM at Ghirardelli's!!!!!!!!!"

Objectives:

DisneyQuest with Erin
Ghirardellis for a sundae
Typhoon Lagoon with John and Erin
(No pictures to post...I didn't bring the camera today!)

Today, we're going to DQ with Erin. It's not included with their AP, so they have to pay to get in. Ha-Ha! It's included with our UMP so this is the 4th time we've been there this trip! Ha-Ha! Of course, Erin and John will not have to pay admission to the parks or PI anymore for 12 months. Ha-Ha...joke's on us. John's not much for the DisneyQuest scene, so he's off to Wide World of Sports to watch a PAL youth boxing tournament. He is a sundae lover, so he'll be at Ghirardelli's at 3pm to meet us for some ice cream! Yay!

John was nice enough to drop us off at West Side in the Van before heading to WWOS. He took the 2-way radio that Erin had in her bag. I had the other one in my backpack (remember this for later.)

We hit DQ around 11. And immediately split up. David and Erin are Star Wars fans, so I'm sure they went to the Trilogy game. I trekked off to Animation Academy and drew Mickey Mouse. Then, I met Fester.

I sidled up to the Addams Family Electrocution game of Death. Basically, you grip the handles, and it gives you an electric shock. There are 3 levels. If you can hold on through the highest level, Fester's lightbulb lights up. I hit GO, gripped the buttons, and waited. Wow! It wasn't as bad as I thought. The handles just vibrate. I guess there's a charge, but it's more uncomfortable than painful I mastered the first and second levels, but had to quit 1/2 way through the third. I was feeling a bit twitchy and thought I should stop.

(David's note: as a healthcare professional, I am appalled that my wife would do something as stupid as voluntarily be hit with an electric charge. And that she did this while I wasn't around to laugh at her...I mean...to show my concern)

So I went to the Animation Academy to draw Mickey. It didn't come out as nicely as I wanted it to, but I bought it anyway. ($2.12) I can't post that picture, because Mom has it on her fridge. I'm not kidding.

I did Aladdin's magic carpet ride by myself and freed the Genie! Then I did a few rounds of the Mighty Ducks pinball game. Hmmm...it seems that you get higher scores by concentrating on the targets than by attempting to get past the goalie. I sent the final wonderland café email postcard to my Mom, and had a really great brownie! I found Erin, but couldn't find David. So Erin and I did virtual jungle cruise. We screamed and laughed so loudly that David found us. I love that one! Then...we split up again.

I did cyber space mountain twice, designing '5' level coasters both times. Yeah! Then, the CMs let me stay up there after my ride, and watch the videos of the other people experiencing their own rides. More old 1980's games for me! All for free! Yay!

Yikes! It's 2:45! I check the Star wars games...no David or Erin. I check the Wonderland Café and the other restaurant...no David or Erin. I play a few games of Frogger. I check the Ride the Comixs and Jungle Cruise and Mighty Ducks games. No David or Erin. I play Dig Dug and do really well! Finally, I check the gift shop. I make some purchases. No David or Erin. OK. Well, we're supposed to meet John at Ghirardelli's at 3, so I figure maybe I missed them. It's 3 PM now, so I exit DQ and head for Marketplace. John has a radio, anyway...he can call Erin and tell her I'm with him.

I leisurely stroll through West Side, and in PI I realize that I have the other radio. Oops! I call John, and he lets me know David and Erin aren't there. Uh-oh. That sinking feeling you get as a kid when you know you're in trouble never quite goes away, even as an adult. I find John and we wait for David and Erin.

Erin shows up about 15 minutes later. She says David is still at the DQ gift shop, waiting for me, swearing up and down that he knows I would never leave there without him. Oops. I go into World of Disney, and use the house phone to call the DQ Gift Shop. No David. I get back to our outside table and...uh...oh...here comes David. He sees me and his eyes narrow to slits. "I now know what it feels like to lose a child," is the first thing that comes out of his mouth. Thus began a 20 minute...um...animated discussion between him and me on how I think that he thinks that I have no common sense and that he thought that I knew to wait for him and that I think that he sees me as a child that needs to be told what to do...

You get the picture. It wasn't major. We stopped by the time our ice cream came.

Which was fantastic! David had the cable car (with yummy chocolate candies) and I had a banana split (I believe the name was the Golden Gate but don't quote me). John and Erin had sundaes, as well. I heard horror stories about waiting a long time for Ghirardelli's, but it took less than 5 minutes to go to the head of the line, and 10 minutes for the ice cream to arrive at our outside table. Heavenly.

Now that we were all bloated with ice cream, let's head to the water park!

John revved up the van and we headed to TL. It was 4:45 by the time we got there, and the sheeple were heading home as we were arriving. Baaaaa! We had no problem renting a locker or finding a chair to dump our towels. Then it was into Castaway Creek for a journey around the park. I can't swim, so Castaway Creek was great for me. We grabbed tubes and mostly had the creek to ourselves. The bachelor herd tried to get their respective wives soaked beneath the various waterfalls. They succeeded. Then, we slogged to the Gangplank Falls ride. This is the group raft ride. Be aware...you have to get your raft about 1/2 way up the stairs and bring it up with you, which can be difficult for clumsy people like me! We piled in and scooted on our way. What fun! (Tho' I have to say that the one at Blizzard Beach is more fun...longer, too!) We did Gangplank Falls one more time, and headed for the tube slides. The sign at Mayday Falls say that you have to be a strong swimmer to go on the slide, so I sent the other three up to be my scouts. No more than 10 minutes and they were already down the slide! (Note to all: late afternoons at Water Parks are blissful) David told me he thought I'd have no problem. The splashdown pool was only 4 feet or so, and we think the sign meant that you had to be able to handle getting out of your tube and crossing the pool to get out. That's no problem for me. My patented water walking/bouncing method gets me where I need to go! So, we clambered back up the stairs. I hopped in my tube, held onto the handles like my life depended on it (in a way, it did!) and shot down the slide. It was fun, and I had no problems at all.

Note to all: Even if I did have a problem, I certainly wouldn't have blamed WDW, since as a responsible adult, I realized I wasn't a strong swimmer (or even a weak one) and went on the ride of my own free will.

Then we did Keelhaul Falls, which I went on without having the other 3 scout it out first. That one was great as well, with a drop from the slide into the splash pool! Fun for all!

We slogged around trying to find Shark Reef. There was no way I would even try it. (I think I could swim well if I could only relax enough to allow myself to float) But David, John, and Erin suited up and took the plunge. (A very cold plunge, so I hear!) I watched from the safety of the boat with the observing windows. David had never been snorkeling before, and began to panic. He was going to stop on the 'emergency' island, but then managed to go on. But he didn't see very much, because he was concentrating on getting out of the pool. John's mask and snorkel were leaking, so he stopped at the island. The CMs told him to take the mask off and continue by breathing above water and then poking his head under to see the sealife once in a while. Erin did just fine, and went through a second time, while John and David watched from the safety of the boat with Chicken of the Sea here. David agreed with me that the best view of the fishies is from the boat.

The rhythmic 'thud' of the wave pool beckoned us. I followed along, thinking that this wouldn't be too bad...after all, the water level is pretty low and I could stand easily. We were chatting, when boom! The Wave came. Everyone cheered/screamed and was ready for fun.

And I saw it.

A six foot wall of water filled with people.

Taller than me.

Coming closer.

Not breaking before it got to me.

I grabbed David.

Around his neck.

I scream.

It crashes.

We both get sucked under.

I hear the 'whoosh' that lets me know I'm under water, and that screaming would be a bad idea.

Luckily, I bob back up, coughing, choking, sputtering, and terrified.

As does David, who explains to me that grabbing someone around their neck as they're about to go under water is a bad idea.

Oh.

I never thought of it from that angle.

Anyway, I'm getting the heck out of Dodge. No way I'm going through that again. I'll sit in Ketchakiddie Creek with a Sprite. See you all later at the ---

<Boom>

<Cheers/Screams>

Crap. Here it comes again. It's coming faster than I can bounce/walk to the water's edge.

Huge wall of water.

I grabbed David

By the hand, thankyouverymuch.

It didn't help.

I scream

It crashes

I go under.

Whoosh.

I bob back up, tired of being a human buoy. Then, I choke and gasp in the direction of the water's edge, and start hopping. There's a little ledge between the two exits of the pool. Enough to sit on, and the water near it couldn't have been more than 2 feet deep. So I hop up there, and wait for them. I don't have my glasses, so I can't see them, but I figure I'll find them eventually.

<Boom>

<Cheers/Screams>

Ha-Ha! Fun for me! I won't get hit. From that seat, the wave pool is really a spectacle. I'd love to know how it works. By the time the wave gets to me, it's not so bad, but the force of it pushed me back against the rock and drenched me from the chest down. Which was really cool! I had the best seat in the house. A little boy (five-ish, I would guess) sat next to me, and looked scared as the next wave approached us. I asked him to hold my hand, as I was a bit scared, so he did. He laughed and squealed when we got wet. It was so cute. One of those "I want a child right now!" times. Finally, he found his older siblings and had to go. Then my playmates came back and joined me on the ledge. They made an announcement that TL was closing in 15 minutes, so we changed and headed back to the resorts. I got a TL cup in exchange for my locker deposit. Yay!

We went back to DxL and I tried to make PS for the four of us for dinner. We wanted either the Teppanyaki House or the San Angel Inn for 8:30. Teppanyaki had nothing for around that time, so we went to San Angel. We parked at Boardwalk and took the International Gateway entrance. It took about 10 minutes to find a seat, so we bummed around the markets. I was going to ask for Paragon, but I was struck by shyness. (sigh) So we got to our table, and David and I decided to have Margaritas, as we have never tried them before. (We don't drink much at all) So here come these HUGE frozen Margaritas. And ew...they taste bitter. (I didn't get any fruit flavoring to them) David doesn't like his at all, so he lets Erin finish his.

OK Class...here's a quickie life lesson.

No breakfast + Ice Cream Sundae at 3:30 PM + Huge margarita = Big Problem.

I should have known when the drink started to taste like the best slushie I've ever had. Our meals came...(I had the Chicken Mole Poblano). Erin remarked how the glass was so big she could stick her face into it. I'm starting to sing lines from Margaritaville.

Erin: I like the line about the Pop Tart

Bachelor herd: What Pop Tart

E: She just sang it.

Kim: It's blew out my flip-flop stepped on a Pop Top...

E: I thought it was stepped on a Pop Tart...

Well, to Erin and I it was the funniest thing ever. We were laughing into our napkins, and I had tears rolling down my face.

I couldn't finish my chicken. I don't remember much else...except in snippets.

Total bill for 4 was for 84.17. No CM discount.

It was after Illuminations. The torches were lit in the World Showcase Lagoon and the song playing was a new one I didn't recognize. So I'm guessing that night was Illuminations 2000.

We went into MouseGear, which is a beautiful store. I bought a Lumiere Pin. Erin and John bought the Snowglobe featuring the 2000 and Spaceship Earth.

We walked back to the IG and decided to take the friendship launch to Boardwalk. From there, the plan was to go to Pleasure Island. We could have walked faster. The boat waited 15 minutes to leave, until it was totally full, and the skipper said: "How many of you are going to Swan and Dolphin?" Nobody raised his or her hand. "Well, we have to stop there anyway to pick up the dockhand. Then we're stopping at Yacht/Beach Club. Finally at Boardwalk." After the Y/B Club stop, the boat had to make a U-turn to get to Boardwalk...which, in essence, finished the night for me, as I was then dizzy and sleepy. The whole boat ride took 45 minutes. Then John drove us back to Dixie.

To bed with me. I don't know what David did...I'm guessing the same!

Objectives Met: (Yay! 100%)

DisneyQuest with Erin
Ghirardelli's for a sundae
Typhoon Lagoon with John and Erin
From PassPorter:

The weather on our sixth day was: Sunny and Hot!
The best thing about our sixth day was: (David) The TL wave pool. (Kim) The fact that I did waterslides!
The worst thing about our sixth day was: (David) Getting separated at DisneyQuest. (Kim) The bad decision to have a margarita on an almost empty stomach.
The most interesting thing about our sixth day was: (David) Seeing Kim drunk. (Kim) The margarita
One word that best describes our sixth day is: wet, but self-inflicted
Day 7: September 23, 1999 "This is the last time on this trip that we'll...."

Objectives:

Fantasmic!
Souvenir Shopping
12:30 RADP meet at BTMRR
Am I always doomed to feeling depressed on our last day of vacation??? I turn on the DVC channel again as we awake, and take a peek outside. It's sunny! Figures...

(No, I'm not hungover, I have no headache, and I slept like a rock)

Today, the only thing we have planned is to meet Erin and John at MGM in the afternoon for attractions and Fantasmic tonight. But I'm in full "we need to seize what precious little we have left of our vacation!!!!" mode, so we decide to head to Epcot in the morning to do some shopping at Mouse Gear and to have lunch at the Teppanyaki House. We get Priority Seating for 12:30 pm. And head to Epcot via the bus.

Hey! The glove and sleeve are done on Spaceship Earth. Well done, Disney!

As we head to the entrance, I say, "This is the last time on this trip that we'll enter Epcot." As we enter, a guerilla photographer says, can I get the two of you together to take a picture? Why the heck not! The AK one turned out great! Well, this guy was fantastic. First, he took a picture of us with our arms around each other. He was on the ground shooting upward. Then, he took us to a ledge around a garden, had David stand on the ground, and me stand on the ledge, bend down and put my arms around David, cheek to cheek. Finally, he had David and I sit on the ledge, me turned to the side, and him with his arms around me. I complimented the CM on his techniques (he was Jeremy from Toulouse, France) and he thanked me. We'll definitely have to see what these shots look like.

We head to MouseGear, where I find out that a former TDS CM from my store is now a manager. But he wasn't there. Like I said in Day 6, it is a beautiful store with tons of Milennium merchandise. And the registers were very nice from the guest's end. (Remember, I'm a retail person, so weird things intrigue me) There was a color LCD screen facing the guest, and each line item shows up on the screen, so you see a running total. Also, whenever it prints a receipt or writes to the journal tape, the screen has animated gears that rotate. But only when it prints. Nice touch. And they had this neat contraption that helped them wrap up fragile things. Tons of hidden Mickeys through the store as well.

But the highlight was the fact that part of Dreamfinder's dreamship was up on the wall. (Figure 1) According to a CM (meaning: take with a grain of salt), Figment still is inside of the gold 'urn' he pops out of. He's powered by air compression, so it would be expensive to keep him constantly out, so shortly, they may rig it so that he peeks out a little bit every hour or every half hour. When we move out to Orlando, I'm getting a job at Mouse Gear!

We had all packages sent to the front gate. Then, we headed for Test Track. The CM said there was no Singles Line that morning because they were painting. Oh, well. The wait was 60 minutes, but I don't think TT is worth more than 20 minutes. Again, the off-season has spoiled me. We picked up a Test Track Goofy for David's coworker, Pam.

We ventured off to Mexico, (Figure 2) because I wanted a churro in the worst way. We sat down with our churros and the omnipresent Coke and Sprite and who comes along but John and Erin? They also have a churro and some flan. We start chatting it up about the Pop Tart incident and our general conditions after the margaritas. No hangovers, we are glad to report.

After that, I gather the 3 together for a picture in front of the stave church. Then a guest comes by and offers to take my camera so I can get in the picture! (Figure 3)I immediately thought of the magic that is made by RADP, and wondered if this kindly guest was one of 'us.' No pin, though. Maelstrom had...no wait. David and I think Maelstrom is pretty weird and overrated, but it had no wait, so the four of us pile on in. Even with no wait, it's still overrated! But I did get the front of my shorts wet. Time to split up...John and Erin ate lunch at Akershus, and David and I continued our stroll to Japan.

The fife and drum corps were in front of American Adventure, so we stood and watched. (Figure 4) I'm telling you...what a fantastic patriotic rush. I especially enjoyed the blindfolded drumming, though David had to blow it for me by telling me his marching band's drum corps could do the same thing. But not with cool powdered wigs, though! Between the Flag Lowering Ceremony yesterday and the Fife and Drum Corps today, I want to run for public office.

On to Japan and Teppanyaki. We approached the booth and were the 5th and 6th seated at our table of 8. I had the chicken and David had the steak and shrimp combo. We enjoy Benihana, and this was pretty identical. (We give it 3 stars out of 5) Except this chef didn't flip a shrimp tail into his hat.

I'm forgetting something.

I hate that feeling.

What is it?

The RADP Mini-Meet! D'oh!

I was so looking forward to meeting the other RADPers, but forgot to work it into our plans. Sorry, guys, maybe next time!

Anyway, we eat, and it takes eons to get our check...we thought the Milennium celebration would be done with by the time we left! But things still looked in tact, and the 2000 was still over Spaceship earth. Total before CM discount $27.19-after was $21.76. But we put the savings back on as a gratuity.

We continue our meandering around the World Showcase Lagoon and wind up at Canada, where I try my first beavertail...cinnamon and sugar. Mmmm...delightful! David is stuffed, but there's always room in my tummy for the sweet stuff!

The Epcot pictures turned out great! We got the 1 5X7 and 4 wallet package. (Figure 5) Which turned out really well, because we bought my mother a plastic snowglobe for her desk at school which had a slot for a picture. So we trimmed the wallet size down and put it in the globe. (Note to all: the curvature of the snowglobe plus the water can make people look...fluffier...than they really are!)

Picked up our packages and headed to the Monorail.

Kim: This is the last time we'll see Epcot on this trip.

David: Yes it is

K: This is the last time we'll board a Monorail on this trip.

D: Yes it is

K: This-

D: I will not put up with this all day!

We monorailed to TTC and took the bus to MGM without a delay. There, we established radio contact with Erin and John, as they were on one of the Friendship launches. By now it was about 2:30 pm. First stop was locker rental to stash our souvies. Then we hightailed it to Guest Relations to get a Fantasmic! Dinner package PS, but t'was not to be. The only spots they had left were at 4:15 and 4:30. We concurred that we couldn't possibly eat so soon. The CM said to get in line for Fantasmic 90 minutes ahead of time.

OK, this may be sacrilegious, but I wouldn't wait 90 minutes for a show even if Walt and Roy were to be resurrected and dance the salsa to a live Ricky Martin singing La Vida Loca. I wouldn't wait 90 minutes to see a joint reunion of Wham! and New Kids on the Block (two of my past passions...I'm dating myself, aren't I?). So there's no way I'm waiting all that time to see Fantasmic!

It's my last day of vacation. I'm sad. (Figure 6)

So, the happy foursome decides to take their chances and arrive 30 minutes before the show. In the meantime, David, Erin and I do RNRC (still mega-cool!) without a FP. There was about a 15 minute wait, enough for me to realize that my Donny and Marie record player isn't in the exhibit. Then, onto ToT for Erin and I. No time for milling in the lobby...there was a 5 minute wait. Never never never will I go to WDW in summer again. When we have kids, I'm pulling them out of school. That's final.

The waits were so short! Why? Because it's time for the Mulan Parade! We get a decent standing spot near a fountain and watch it for the first time. (Well for us anyway, Erin and John saw it before). Our side entertainment was watching people being shooed down from standing on the fountain ledge. That poor CM deserves a medal!

Silly Tourist Question of the Day: "What is the name of the hotel with the Swan on it?"

After the parade, we scoot over to Muppet Vision 3D, where it was so light that we didn't have to scoot to the end of the row before sitting. Spaces between parties were welcomed. I've never had so much personal space in WDW in my entire life!

A bummer...we saw two teens fishing coins out of the Muppet fountain outside of the theater. They would go in to the fountain, pick out coins and pocket them. We glared, but they didn't stop. So John took it upon himself to inform the maintenance CM nearby. We hope he did something. Susan Lucci was signing autographs in some store (forget the name!) in commemoration of her new fragrance called "Nineteen time loser!" No, I'm kidding...it was called "invitation." I think "Finally" would have been a great name.

On to the Drew Carey Sounds Dangerous sound show, which was just OK in my book. IMO, it's a longer version of the little 'listening booths' outside the show...haircut and all. FWIW, I preferred the original Monster Sound Show. To me, this is a case of when the original show wasn't out of date or anything, and the replacement was far worse.

Star Tours! Yeah! That silly droid Rex made the wrong turn yet again, and we were subjected to another killer battle between the Rebels and the Empire. Dum dum da dum dum da dum dum da dum. Get this, the attraction dumps you into a gift shop! The horrors! But it's now the Tattooine Traders stores, so it's OK with us. Erin took some poses on the Star Speeder with a toy SW gun that she bought at DTD. The pictures turned out very nice!

After that, it was off to Voyage of the Little Mermaid, a show that I'm never too old for. Such a thrill going Under the Sea! And puppetry like this makes my memories of Kukla, Fran, and Ollie fade even more! (Who will get that reference?) Ariel's voice seemed a bit shrill today, perhaps she was an understudy. I remember a more 'hearty voiced' Ariel from the last few years. In the Studio Store, David purchased a really awesome tie! I returned to Villains in Vogue and finally bought my Gaston shirt.

It's now 6:30, and while the masses begin to line up for Fantasmic!, we get in line at Rosie's for food. The bachelor herd hunted down the grub, and the womenfolk sat at the table and watched the clouds roll in. I have a cheeseburger, David has a hamburger, and we share a bag of fries. We each have a brownie, which looked better than it tasted.

We linger over dinner, gabbing about the trip, and our impending return home. Finally, at 7:30, we hop in line for Fantasmic! hoping that the drops we feel are from someone's mister.

They weren't.

So the rain began to fall, but without lightning, which I hear is good. At 7:45, they use ropes to divide the line in half. The front half goes into the theater. We can hear a preshow, but it was hard to identify. A few minutes later, we are told there is standing room only. No biggie. Then, the CM takes a flashlight and slooooowwwwly walks to the theater. We slooooowwwwly walk behind her. We get to the top step of the standing room area, and move all the way over to the last section "Witch." Now, some guy with a heavy Southern Accent ("I certainly hope that wasn't real" said my Mississippi born and bred hubby.) is reading the rules, and letting kids read the rules. And the rain starts to fall. No umbrella today...and we never did get the poncho. Now, people start leaving the theater in droves, opening up seats everywhere. We move down to the 6th row in Witch, where we sit down.

"Your attention, please. This is Dave Inthebooth and as you can tell we are experiencing a little bit of a shower cell right now. According to our Doppler, it is small and should move right through. Because we want to give you a great show, we are delaying the beginning of Fantasmic for 15 minutes. Thank you for your patience."

We heard boos for Mr. Inthebooth, probably from those who sat down a 6:30 and have been waiting for 90 minutes. The Southern guy has us do the camera flash wave, which resulted in a wasted picture for me, but looked really neat. Our alternative preshow entertainment was watching the droves of people navigate the steps up to get out of the theater.

The rain was really coming down now, but no lightning. One thing I've learned from this week: Once you're initially soaked, more soaking doesn't matter. So we sat and chatted with those around us. John notes that had we been able to get that Fantasmic Dinner Package, we'd be sitting in pretty much the same spot as now.

"Hello, everyone...this is Dave Inthebooth again. This storm cell has stopped moving, but we expect it to clear out soon. So in order to provide you with a great show, we are delaying the beginning of Fantasmic for 15 more minutes. Thank you for your patience."

And the rain kept coming. And the people kept leaving. And suddenly the drops get heavier. John goes out to look for a poncho salesperson for us.

"Um...hi everyone. This is Dave Inthebooth. As you can tell, the rain has increased, so for your safety and the safety of the performers, we are canceling this evening's performance of Fantasmic! I apologize for keeping you in the rain."

Ooo...Mr. Inthebooth was not quite everyone's number one guy at the moment. We caught up with John at the top of the ramp, and exited the theater. Many children were crying. I'd cry too if my folks had me waiting 2 hours for a show that was cancelled.

As were were shoulder-to-shoulder exiting the theater and the park, guess what? Yep...the rain stopped. Drat.

The initial plan was to go from MGM to DownTown Disney. But since we were soaked to the bone, we decided to wisely go back to the room and change into dry duds. The busses leaving MGM were mobbed! The PO/DL bus line was snaked around and extended all the way past the entrances to two other stops. We stand in line for about 1.5 seconds before John suggests we split a cab ride. We dash to a cab/van in the parking lot, but he said he already had customers...I guess the invisible type. Rather than argue, we caught the next cab, which got us to PO/DL for about $12. Not bad. We were stuck in traffic for a lot of the way, though.

John swung by 30 minutes later with the van, and away we went to DD and PI. John had the van valet parked. David and I buy pillows to match our throw ($25 each) and a Mickey head-shaped vanilla candle and holder ($12 and $7-but all minus 20% CM discount), and we dump the bags in the van. But on the way out of the Disney at Home store, I see a woman.

Guest: Oh, my Gawd! You work at the Disney store at Echelon Mall? Remember me?

Wow! It was one of the guests that came to my store last week. I told her that we'd be down the same time as she, and to look for me. I gave her a quickie description of who I'd be with (you'll see me with a tall guy with glasses and brown hair.) How cool was it that we crossed paths? I felt like a celebrity for the rest of the evening.

(So far, I see 2 people from home without even arranging it, and nobody with a RADPin! Who would have thunk it?)

Off to Pleasure Island. It was PACKED! Oh...it's Thursday, meaning it's CM free admission night. Oh, well. We hop in line for the 10:20 Comedy Warehouse show. Frankie and the West End boys hit the stage and perform...the exact same set we heard when we were here this time on Monday night. It was still pretty good. Oh, we were calling the CW Line CM the "Line Nazi" because he had us line up three across throughout the queue.

We were seated, but this time we ended up on the stools behind the people along the tables. I'm too clumsy to hold a drink for 30 minutes without spilling it, so I forgo the libation, as does David. The performers hit the stage, and ring the telephone next to one of the seats. A young girl sitting on the stools behind the guest next to the phone lunges forward and grabs the phone.

Guest: Hi!

Comedian: Hi, what's your name?

Guest: Dani!

Comedian: Dani...are you the same Dani that we've been featuring in our songs and skits all this week?

Dani: Yes!

Comedian: OK...well Dani...why don't you hand the phone to the guy in front of you so we can talk to him.

Audience: (Thunderous Applause)

Wow...what déjà vu. It became apparent that young Dani has been frequenting the Comedy Warehouse all week.

(rant) Again, we were shocked at the little ones in tow. Maybe about 15-20 kids...at the next-to-last show of the night. So, again, you can tell that the comedians were really trying to steer the show away from anything that could be considered the least bit risqué. Which is a good judgement call on their part, but it's sad that they have to stall some of their creative juices from flowing because someone would not put their kid in a program for a few hours, or take them to an earlier show. (End rant)

After the show, we head to the Adventurers Club, where we saw the CM who usually plays Gabby the Maid in her regular 'civilian' clothing speaking with the other 'in-character' actors. She then went through the door used to go 'backstage.' The place was flooded with off-duty CMs who were monopolizing the actors with chatter about the parks. It kind of made for a bad show, IMO. Yes, yes...I know CMs should be able to have a good time as well, but shouldn't they act like us regular Guests? At my TDS, if we're shopping on our own time, we realize that the guests come first, and we're not to disrupt what the CMs are doing by going behind the registers, going backstage, monopolizing their time, etc. Or maybe it's just sour grapes because I have to go home tomorrow!

On the bright side, I had a Hathaway Brown Banana Bomber drink. It had banana rum and other potent potables, and it was yummy! After hanging around a bit, we exited PI, and witnessed a gentleman cuffed, on the ground, surrounded by some 20 PI security dudes and some police officers. There but for the grace of God go I.

"Now it's time to say goodbye to all our company..."

We got the van back and headed back to DL. Because we had amassed so many things, John and Erin was nice enough to take our big things back to NJ with them into their van. So, we went to the room and carried out the Tink pin set, the pillows and throw, some posters, our DQ Animation Academy drawings, our candles, and my magnets. We thanked them for driving us around and for making the vacation extra special. After the hugs and 'travel safely'-ing, we went back to DL to pack. Erin and John went to PO to prepare for their last full day.

To assuage my sad feelings, I went to bed in my brand new Minnie Mouse Nightgown. (Figure 7)

(Sigh) The last day of vacation is always the saddest, isn't it?

Objectives Met:

Souvenir Shopping
From PassPorter:

The weather on our seventh day was: Sunny and Hot then rainy
The best thing about our seventh day was: shopping!
The worst thing about our seventh day was: The 'last day' blues
The most interesting thing about our seventh day was: seeing that guy get arrested
The most expensive thing about our seventh day was shopping for everyone on our list
One word that best describes our seventh day is: bittersweet
Day 8: September 24, 1999 "Their vacation's starting...our vacation's over..."

Objectives:

Go home
Retrieve dog
Get back into the cats' good graces
Hey...it was sunny! (mutter mutter snarl mutter)

FTC was scheduled to arrive at 10:40 to kidnap us and take us against our wills to the airport. Well mainly me. I get the distinct hunch that after a week at the World, my spouse is ready, almost happy to go home. I'll have to work on that. I haven't the heart to turn on the Zip a Dee Doo Dah Tip of the Day channel. At 9:30 we head to the Food court.

Me: This is the last time--

David: I know.

David had a bagel, he wasn't too hungry. I had a croissant (I wasn't too hungry) and bought the Mickey shaped crazy straw for my mug and 3 Mickey head Krispy treats (without the chocolate please...I'm a purist). One for me, one for David, and one for my brother. I went though the gift shop-

David: Yes....we all know...ONE LAST TIME!

Oh, shaddup...I'm sad! We go back to Magnolia terrace, call Bell Services, ride the baggage golf cart o'death back to the resort center, settle the account with the front desk, hopped into our FTC (driven very well again by Bill) and go back to the airport.

While at the airport, we check out the Disney store, the Universal Studios Store and the Seaworld store. We also found a cute pet-supplies boutique, and I bought a catnip toy for the cats so they wouldn't resent us as much for leaving. And Mickey (our dog) got a bag of handmade Florida dog treats, shaped like suns, fish, and palm trees.

The plane left for and arrived at Philly without delay. We got the car at Kinney Airpark ($44.00 for 7 days) and headed home, where the cats (Figures 1-3)weren't as mad as I thought, and the dog (Figure 4) wasn't too thrilled to see us either, as my mother spoils him terribly. And I found a hidden Mickey from our balcony. (Figure 5)

Some notes:

Caribbean Beach is officially our favorite moderate. Dixie Landings, though beautiful, just isn't the themeing we're looking for on vacation. We like the beachy, tropical themes of CBR and CSR better. Although we didn't stay at PO, we ate at their food court and saw their rooms. It's too tiny for my taste. I also prefer not sharing busses with other resorts. I'm just stingy, I guess.
I used to think that the Contemporary was very sterile and boring. Of course, it's easy to judge something unless you've been inside. Although I haven't visited a room, the lobby was gorgeous, and I wouldn't rule out staying there anymore.
Same for the Poly. From the outside, it can look very Brady Bunch. It takes a leap of faith to submerge yourself in the theming, but it is simply gorgeous. I'd love to stay there.
I think the Sassagoula River Cruise was wonderful! It was a relaxing way to get to Downtown Disney during the daytime. I say daytime because at night the waits were outward of 45 minutes to board either way.
We'll try very hard not to go in the off season again. The short lines spoiled us rotten!
Next time, I'm going to concentrate more on not being fidgety and sitting for shows. This marks the 3rd time I haven't seen the Hunchback show and the Festival of the Lion King show because I just don't plan for them! And I was very pleased by the Mulan parade.
If someone is reckless on the Water Mice, remember their boat color and/or number. This will help the marina CMs haul their sorry tushies in!
If you are a TDS CM, ask everywhere if they take your discount. If you have a significant other whom you're pooling money with, get their money first before approaching the register. Also, in my case, the room discounts were available much further in advance than the mandated 21 days. If I wasn't persistent, the discounted rooms may have been gone by 21 days out.
If it rains, break down and buy a poncho. You'll be thankful.
September is love bug season! According to CMs, they were brought in to combat the mosquitoes, but it didn't work as planned. They were all over us for most of the week! You can tell it's them, because...well...just look at them and you'll know of what I speak!
By all means, take advantage of E-ride nights. You'll feel like you're one of the elite!
Take afternoon breaks, even if you're not a napper. We didn't do this like we should have on this trip, and as a result we were more tired and had troubles getting out early.
Well, this wraps up our TR. I hope you enjoyed it, and I humbly ask that you accept it as a small 'payment' toward all of the great info and camaraderie that RADP provided me.

We did plan a return trip for January, to see the Millennium stuff that wasn't open yet, but it seems that trip's not going to happen. Maybe another anniversary trip in April will fit the bill!

Kimberly Turberville

ladygypsy@home.com